Rewriting Every Episode of RWBY - Team SNGW
by TeamDSNG
Summary: Self-insert rewrite of all of RWBY. Team SNGW is an OC team that experiences the plot alongside your favorite characters. There will be new characters, plot elements, and an overhaul of the story we all know and love. Meant to parallel the original plot so everyone can pick it up and find it entertaining. Been at it since 2016, so details change and things might be rewritten.
1. Prologue

For starters, this story takes place from the perspectives of four different characters. whenever you see:

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between paragraphs, it indicates a change in characters/setting. Backstories are something that will be explained throughout the story, much like the original plot of RWBY. We are also not changing the main overarching plot of RWBY, so we expect readers to have watched all of RWBY to fill in the blanks in the story. Our story takes place alongside the original plot and cast, with it intertwined yet very different at the same time. This story started out as a story for us, the creators of the four OCs so there are personal and joke ships and parts inspired by inside jokes, but the focus will be on making a quality story that reimagines the RWBY story.

It also started out on Facebook with me, the creator of Norrin, creating art to help develop out characters. You can find us by searching 'Team SNGW' on Facebook. Like for updates, art, and more. Even if you don't want to like us, we still have art of our characters. We'll most likely add links to images throughout the story when necessary. Feel free to message us anytime!

 **(Currently a WIP art piece of all the characters in on display at the Facebook page)**

Now. Since some of you probably won't visit our page, here's some basic character descriptions.

(The following link is to a WIP of all new character art, but the overall designs can be understood from the written descriptions, and the personalities & other information).

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Daichi (Human) 19: Has dark brown, almost black hair, that sweeps up and spikes to the left of his head. He has green eyes, (think like Pyrrha's). He's tall and well built. A little beefy, like Yatsuhashi of team CVFY. He wields a large rectangular dark gray sword.

The sword is roughly half the length of his body, the bottom of the word splits into react angular spikes with triangular ends. One in the handle, adorned with blue grips and buttons, and in between the prongs is a dust feed. Cartridges or raw Dust crystals can be inserted. Near invisible circuitry runs up the middle of the blade, that glows the color of dust inserted.

Daichi wears a brown leather overcoat, with a large folded over collar with wool on the inside, (like a bomber Jacket). He wears Gray jeans He wears a bright green V neck t-shirt underneath his coat. Inside his coat a long barrel revolver rests, and in smaller pockets a variety of small dust crystals. He has a very basic outfit at first glance, and personality to match. He excels at earning trust and has a determined will. He's a bit more complex but you'll learn more if you read.

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Sage (Human) 18: (Yes we know there's already a Sage in RWBY, but this sage is going to kick his ass). Has long purple hair that covers the right side of her face. it hangs over her right shoulder onto her chest. She wears a gray hoodie with purple stripes running down the sides and the sleeves. The neck and strings of the hoodie are crossed like shoelaces and hang past her waist. Her right forearm and left knee are both bandaged. The sleeves of her hoodie are often kept rolled up, but the left sleeve likes to fall down to full length. She wears short gray jean shorts and has a indigo pouch hanging on her right hip. Her right leg is encased in tights, with a padded knee for her to kneel on. She wears tall brown combat boots and is also the only character that swears. (Yeah just something we felt we needed for her personality). She's kind of crazy, laughs a lot for no reason, and acts without warning. Her weapon is really just a sniper rifle, but the barrel telescopes, the scope is detachable and can be folded over the right, and the gun folds in half. She has no need for any other weapons, but she's known to carry around an assortment of knives.

Griz (Faunus) 17: He has light gray hair, (not too long), and pale blue eyes. Hiding his hair is a gray beanie. He wears a dark blue-gray sleeveless biker jacket. Underneath he wears a long sleeve light gray sweater. The shoulders are adorned with blue stripes.. He wears a metal gauntlet on his left arm that extends over his fingers, creating a claw that he can use in combat. He wears dark gray skinny jeans with a variety of straight edges patterns. A blue braid hangs between his front left and back left belt loops. Wears high top black boots, and the shoelaces are often untied. Weapon is a straight sword of Eastern influence. Approx. 4 feet long. Between the blade and the grip there's a round ejector, bullet drum, and a handle against the front of the drum. The handle can be pulled forward, and the base grip rotated down. When this happens the front half of the blade flips backwards, like Blake's pistol, and a barrel comes out; it turns into a submachine gun.

Griz acts laid back, but angers easily and doesn't give up grudges. He's got powerful instincts, but often acts irrationally. Oh yeah he also has a bushy tail. It's pretty big. I wonder if he's compensating for something...

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Noiren (pronounced Nor-rin) (Faunus): 17 (His name is a play on Noir. Hard to figure out but that's also kind of how you pronounce it). A quiet, keeps-to-himself kind of guy, he is a cat Faunus with ears as his trait. His hair is medium length, and mostly sweeps to his left. The majority of his hair is black, (from his right ear and to the left), but his right ear and side of hair is gray, almost white. His right eye is gray and the left is a orange-yellow. He wears a black bullet proof trench coat that is short on the left side. The sleeve is at full length on his right side but kept above his elbow on the left. He wears golg, lightly armored gloves on both arms. The left one only goes to his elbow, and he right extends up the entire length of the arm, (you don't see this often as the sleeve is long). He has a gold t-shirt underneath a buttoned gray (and sleeveless) V-neck. H e wears gray pants with black accents behind his knees and in from the waist to the crotch of his pants. He wears short black boots under his pant bottoms.

His weapon, Nachtpfeil is a telescoping polearm with a hidden blade on one side, and a shotgun-powerful revolver mechanism on the back side. Both sides can be extended retracted. In storage mode it's about a meter in length, and double length when extended. The gun mechanism can be used as a propellant (like Crescent Rose). The blade stores itself inside the pole when not in use and can be supplemented by two spikes at the base of the blade.

He's antisocial, (extremely so), and non confrontational. He's got a soft spot for jokes and keen sense of hearing. He's secretive, never having opened up to anyone close.

There! Phew, that took a while to type. Also, semblances will be described in the story, like backstories. That's about all the information you need. Now, go and enjoy the read!


	2. Episode 1

**Episode 1**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Robbery**

"From Dust till Dawn" was the only Dust shop in downtown Vale City that was open past 11:00, which was unusual in its own right but even more so after the sixteen other Dust shop robberies across the continent, at least seven of which were in broad daylight. Old man Braun ran the shop. A kind old fellow, he enjoyed what he did no matter how many times he accidentally bought another thousand Lien's worth of Schnee Dust. This had happened recently, and it painted a target on Old Man Braun's store for a very certain group of low-life criminals…

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A group of men walked up to the store calmly, as if they weren't about to rob it. Alas, they were. Inside the store there was a young girl in a red hood towards the back looking at the latest weapons magazines, and a slightly older man with a large, monolithic sword on his back pretending to look at some assorted bags of Dust. In reality, he was counting the Lien he stole from a gentleman who made the mistake of falling asleep on a nearby park bench. When the five well-dressed men entered, he kept his face turned away and hid the stolen money. With no confrontation, the shop keeper was held at gunpoint and some stark commands were issued by a man in a white suit, sending three of the men in black to retrieve the powdered Dust from the tubes along the wall. Realizing this, the young man hunched over and tried to slink out of the store. He made it but mere meters from the door, as one of the rascals in black caught him by his collar, choking the young man.

"Where do you think you're going? Hey! Boss! I found a witness!" The henchman yelled back.

The young man, was turned around and the man in the white suit sauntered towards him. The man in white glanced over the boy, rather unimpressed, until his eyes fell upon the sword sheathed on his back. His eyes narrowed, and he said,

"Why do you have that weapon there, kid?"

"Nowhere, found it." said the young man.

"Right... Who are you, boy?"

"I'm the Mayor of Haven; don't you recognize me?" The young man, now easily seen as an older teen, replied with a cocky smirk on his face. The man in white's eyes darted towards the henchman and he nodded towards the boy. The henchman faced the boy, threatening him with a fire-Dust pistol.

"Hand over your wallet, kid."

The boy pulled out his stolen wallet; having only lifted it from a lack of lien, and because the opportunity presented itself. The henchman snatched the wallet.

"Hey boss can I keep this money?" The henchman inquired immediately after looking inside the leather vessel. The man in white didn't even look up, and grasped for the scroll in his pocket.

"Go ahead. Just remember what we're actually here for."

The henchman quickly pocketed the loose change, and started to rummage through for an ID. The henchman had lowered his weapon, but the boy was too far to attack with priority, and too close to dodge if he decided to run. The boy knew his weapons would be taken as soon as they ID'd him; his fate stalled by each shopper discount card the henchman removed from the bottomless wallet.

The man in white fumbled with his scroll, clearly bored waiting on something. The teen turned his attention to one of the men in the black suits walking in his right peripheral vision. The man walked towards a large Dust stash, but sharply turned his head to the left. He walked towards where he had looked, promptly exiting the boy's field of view. He silently prayed for an opportunity.

" _Well, this is not how I intended tonight to go,"_ The teen thought to himself. " _What's next? Someone going to fly through the window?"_

Almost as if life mocked his thoughts, the henchman who had walked to the back flew across the store, crashing into the window display. The man in white and the one detaining the boy both looked, giving him a much-needed distraction. He dashed forwards and dropped into a crouch, grabbing his sword hilt and the wrist holding his captor's pistol. He kicked back with one leg and pushed, spinning himself around. The henchman yelped as he was swung, just before the boy slammed his sword hilt into the man's gut. The black suited man was launched at the man in the white overcoat, stunning and knocking down both of them. The first henchman started to get up from the ruined window display. Stooping low to grab the dropped wallet, the young man quickly scanned the situation. Shoving his wallet into his back pocket, he stood up quickly and ran at the henchman, sword drawn. Before he could do anything, a flash of red shot out from the back of the store. The red blur and the henchman crashed through the window. The teen leapt out the window after them, surprised and curious.

The suited man had the wind knocked out of him, and the red streak that took him out stood just past the man curled up on the ground. A small girl, wearing stark black, rose from a crouch in the middle of the street. A long flowing red cape, no... a hooded cloak, flapped in the light breeze behind her. The boy stumbled out of the store, crunching broken glass underneath his boots. The sharp footsteps caught the girl's attention and she promptly turned towards him. A bell jingled, signaling that two other henchmen had ran out in pursuit. The young man darted away, slowing and stopping by the girl's side. He turned and readied his sword, watching as the man in white, and the suited man that caught him, follow the two thugs already outside. The teen gritted his teeth and spat towards the ground.

"Man, these guys just don't quit, do they?" looked back at the girl in the red hood. "Was that you who took that dude out? Because that was, admittedly, pretty cool."

"Oh. Yeah, thanks! I'm Ruby by the way." Her eyes widened as they fell upon the monolithic blade in the boy's hands. "Whoa!" She exclaimed. The boy lifted the metal slab of a sword up onto his shoulder with ease and grinned. He looked forward and slightly lowered himself to the ground, ready to fight.

"Looks like we'll have to finish this conversation later," he said, responding to the suited men readying their swords. He glanced over at Ruby. "You got a weapon?"

She smirked and reached for the bright red contraption on the small of her back. The shell began to rotate outwards, expanding into a large blade. The handle telescoped, and the back spun out. In that instant she was now holding a massive scythe. She swung it around and pinned the tip of the blade through the ground. The male teen reached into his jacket and slipped out a large Dust crystal. He slid it between the handle and guard, inserting it into the feed on his blade. Nearly invisible circuitry running up the side began to glow a light green. Now powered, it hummed resonantly, instantly invigorating him. The man in white straightened his hat and looked his opponents up and down.

"Okay..." He said, sounding almost confused. He motioned at the two men beside him. "Get them." The young man crouched and pushed back, rushing forward toward the nearest enemy. He stuck his leg out and spun counterclockwise, throwing an upwards slash as he came around. In a flash a segment of the blade flew off and bulldozed its way across the ground, hitting two henchmen. The Dust infused in the blade sent a ripping gale through the empty street. Had he selected any other Dust type, the damage to the surrounding buildings would have been catastrophic. The slab that split flew back to the sword, slamming seamlessly in place with a loud metallic clang.

The crack of a gunshot rang out and Ruby flew across the street, knocking one man down with an accelerated kick. She kicked off the ground towards the other man, spinning the scythe and knocking him with a backwards swipe. The young man with the sword looked around, but all the suited men were defeated. He paused, then quickly scanned the area. In the short time they had fought, the man in the white jacket had already taken to a fire escape and was making his way to the rooftops.

The teens rushed towards the building in pursuit. The boy slashed down with his sword, creating a gust that propelled him several stories up and over the lip of the roof. Ruby also fired her weapon, launching up and landing next to him. The leader of the criminal group looked back, and grimaced that his pursuers were still on his tail. He twisted to face them and stretched his arms out dramatically to either side.

"Wish I could have stayed longer, but I'm afraid I've run out of time." An echoed high-pitched whine grew to a scream as a sleek gray craft emerged from behind the building. It temporarily blinded both pursuing teens with the grit blown by the craft's engines. The Dust cleared, and the next thing either of the young fighters knew, their target was on the VTOL and was about to take to the skies. The man in the white suit shouted at them over the roar of the engines.

"End of the line, kids!" He threw a glimmering object down at them; a large red Dust crystal bounced and rolled to a stop at their feet. The criminal aimed with his cane and took the shot. Ruby braced for the attack and the boy thrust his sword down in front of him. A cascade of red light fluttered along the rooftops, followed by an echoing boom.

The teen boy was knocked back, unaware that Ruby was unharmed. A glowing barrier had erected before her, controlled by the Huntress that had by luck appeared before them. He smiled slightly, recognizing the woman that had saved his companion. He raised his sword, only to find it was no longer glowing; a lifeless gray slab. He shoved an electric yellow shard in the guard, causing the blade to come alive with a bright yellow glow. He pointed it at the retreating craft. The six slabs making up the blade starting to spin at exponentially increasing speeds, suddenly firing a lightning bolt towards the cockpit. The bolt zigzagged across the sky and hit, arcing across the metal plating. Instead of disabling the engine it struck, it danced across the top and dissipated. He cursed under his breath and looked back to the side hatch. Much to his surprise, the man in white was now replaced by a woman in a red dress, masked by shadows.

The huntress, Ruby and the young man all took ranged shots, but the mysterious woman kept blocking their attacks. She raised her hand, clothes glowing, and the ground began to glow underneath their feet. The boy grasped for a small red Dust shard in his back pocket and crushed it in his fist. He felt warmth surge through his body. The ground turned from red to glowing white and erupted into fire, throwing flames and debris into the air. The wave of fire passed over him and dispersed, leaving him unscathed. The huntress had nimbly evaded the explosion, also pulling Ruby out of harm's way. The sound of the aircraft's engines accelerating drew their attention. Using the explosion as a distraction, the craft ascended towards the clouds and soon the young man, Ruby and the Huntress were left alone on the burned and broken rooftop. Ruby turned to the woman who had joined their fight.

"Are you a Huntress?" She asked, almost cautiously. The Huntress nodded. "Can I have your autograph?!" Ruby squealed.

"No," The huntress answered sternly. "You are _both_ going to answer every question I have for you. Follow me." The boy closed his eyes and sighed sadly.

" _Here we go again_ ," He thought to himself and followed the huntress and girl to a small aerocraft parked a couple rooftops away.

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Our survivor of the Dust robbery struggle sat quietly in the interrogation room. He had been there for several minutes, and was just beginning to wonder why a school had interrogation rooms, when the door slid open.

"Daichi Stone... I hadn't expected to see you here again." The headmaster of Beacon Academy, Professor Ozpin, walked out of the dimly lit hall with a plate of cookies in hand. The young man strained his neck to look out into the hall as the door closed.

"Where'd you get those? I don't remember a kitchen in this wing..." Daichi puzzled over.

"Not important, but we do have actual important matters to discuss. First of all, could you tell me what happened tonight?"

Daichi told of the gang attack in the shop up until when the man in the white suit got away (minus the details of the stolen wallet, which of course, he made sure wasn't left at the crime scene).

"Hmm, I see. Another thing, about that... girl, who was with you. Did you notice anything unusual about her?" Daichi furrowed his brow and crossed his arms in deep thought.

"Well, she fought well for being so young. Most people that age haven't even looked at a weapon. I mean, she fought like a regular student, but that's all I really remember." Ozpin closed his eyes.

"I suppose it wouldn't happen that easily..."

"Huh? I didn't quite catch that."

"Nothing to worry about, just mumbling to myself. While we are on the topic, you, yourself did fight exceptionally well and almost succeeded in defeating a well wanted criminal. Roman Torchwick isn't your average street thief and that says quite a lot. For that, well, let's say some of the other headmasters may be a little more lenient about letting you re-enroll at Beacon. Despite the… unfortunate events that took place during your first year." Daichi slumped down a little in his chair and his eyes found their way to the floor.

"No need to remind me…" Daichi mumbled. Ozpin continued,

"You are reconsidered, but you would have to redo your first year as you never completed. I assume you know what will happen if you are responsible for any more… incidents. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now to attend to the other witness." Ozpin picked up the untouched plate of cookies and opened the door. He paused.

"I, personally, look forward to seeing you in our halls once again, Mr. Stone."

He crossed the hall and entered an open door. Daichi could hear Glynda lecturing Ruby loudly for a moment before Ozpin closed the door behind him. Daichi sat in silence, reflecting on what had just transpired. A smile bloomed on his face.

" _I'm going back_!" He thought to himself ecstatically.

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Daichi hastily unlocked the door to his brother's apartment, dropping the keys twice before successfully getting them into and turning the lock.

"Corbeau!" He called into the seemingly empty room with an excitement he hadn't felt or expressed in several years. "Corbeau! I've got great news!" Corbeau stumbled into the main room of the apartment, shirtless and half-asleep. He leaned on the doorway.

"Okay, Daich', just...tone it down…it's like, five in the morning…" He managed to get out before resting his head against the door frame.

"Uh, actually, it's crazy earlier. But that's not important, what _is_ important is that I'm going back to Beacon!" Daichi said with an ear-to-ear grin. Corbeau's eyes slowly widened.

"They're letting you back?"

Daichi nodded.

"I mean, I have to redo my first year, seeing as I never finished-"

Corbeau interrupted him.

"They. Are letting _you_ ," He pointed at Daichi. "Back?!"

After a few cups of coffee (spiked with gin), Corbeau had finally come to terms with the fact that Daichi was, in fact, going back to Beacon. (And put on a shirt)

"So, despite the fact that you…" Corbeau stopped himself, remembering that what he was about to bring up was a sensitive subject to Daichi. "…Did what you did, they're letting you back?"

Daichi sighed.

"Yes, Corbeau, for the fourth time now. They said if I pull something like that again, I'm out for good. Legal blocks and all."

Corbeau smiled.

"Well, little bro, I'm proud. Go get your things together, I'll take you to the depot."

Daichi left with a smile and began packing his things. Toiletries, clothes for a few days, sleep pants, his trusty knife "L'épine de la Rose", his revolver "La Grâce de Feu", some snacks, and his favorite collection of poems. He grabbed his wallet off his bed, where he had mistakenly forgotten it; the loss of it forcing him to look for other monetary solutions throughout the day. After a minute of consideration, he packed up his guitar and its case. He sheathed his sword and looked at the picture of him, his brother and sister he had on his desk. They were all smiling. Daichi smiled, too, but it quickly vanished. That picture was taken a few days before Écarlate, his sister, vanished after stealing the sword he now had on his back (that now shares her name). He ran his finger down the side of the frame before carefully setting it at the top of his duffle bag. He slung his guitar case over his shoulder and picked up the duffle bag. He took a deep breath and the smile reappeared on his face.

"Corbeau! Let's jet, man! It's a two-hour drive; let's do this!" He called out of his room before exiting the with his luggage, closing the door one last time.

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 **Chapter** **2**

 **"Sage"**

With a loud thud the last of the thugs fell to the ground. Sage raised an eyebrow, leaning over her fallen foe.

"Seriously? That's all yah got? Ughh, I can't believe I went through all this trouble just ta get mugged and yah guys can't even put up a good fight? Pshh, I'm outta here." Sage flipped her long purple hair back over her shoulder and ran towards the nearest building. She hopped up, and pushed off a window sill, grabbed the bottom rung of the fire escape, and climbed up the five stories. Flawlessly, she hauled herself over the railing and landed with both feet on the edge of the building. She glanced back down at the alley. The gang was getting up, and she watched as all 17 of them run as fast as they could down the street. Sage chuckled and grinned.

"Ehh, it was something ta pass the time" Sage turned as a motor in the distance grew closer. She ran to the other side of building crouching at the corner. Her arm reached behind her and with a sharp pull she removed the scope from her rifle. She held it up and focused a couple blocks away on a mail truck making its final run through the ghetto.

"Right on schedule." She put the scope back and waited. Once the truck was passing she held her breath. The truck slowed. Time slowed. The old man rummaged through his bag and pulled out a rather ornate envelope. He felt puzzled as the address it was written for was the butcher shop that stood before him. He held it out, about to put it into the secured mail container. A small piece of gravel whizzed past his head and knocked the letter to the ground where he dared not to pick it back up. He scurried back to the truck, wary of what was around him. He swore he could hear someone laughing. Sage watched the truck turn the corner, much faster than it legally should. The letter remained on the ground where Sage would climb down to retrieve. Upon inspection it was addressed from Beacon Academy. Her heart pounded. After what seemed like minutes, the envelope was open and she held the contents with trembling hands. Sage burst out laughing, causing a few people to look out their windows, only to shut them immediately. Sage smiled. She had been accepted into Beacon for exceptional marksmanship. She was mostly glad that the butcher shop address actual worked for enrolling.

"Yes! Those idiots. They have nooo idea who they just let in! Still can't believe the military turned me down... Atlas is full of hot heads and tight-asses. Ah well. Time to get my things!" Sage stuffed the letter in her pocket and ran down the street. After what was almost a whole 7 seconds she was at a specific bus stop. She looked under the bench and ripped the duct-taped bag of loose change left there for safe keeping. She shoved it away into the pouch that hung across her right thigh. With a twist she sauntered down the street, whistling to a god-awful tune, butchered beyond recognition.

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 **Chapter** **3**

 **"Noiren"**

Noiren sighed. He glanced around his old room, threadbare as he had just finished packing all his belongings. He felt little attachment to Signal, but it had been his home for two years by then. Aside from the eternal solitude he perpetuated there, he had taken the liberty to avoid making friends the entire time he was there. He reflected on this, thinking.

"At least I won't feel torn about leaving," he said with a short laugh. His eyes darted to the corner where his weapon rested against the wall. He had spent the last year finishing building it. Before then he had no idea what to make. It ended up being a telescoping lance with a blade on one end and a shotgun on the other. He found it similar to a walking stick in the end; the product of his subconscious. "I'll have _Rougir_ to keep me company though. So far it's been more reliable than anyone I've known," he thought. He paused, his ears perked up. Someone was approaching. The door knob turned and the door clicked open.

"Mr. Liquet? The shuttle is almos-"

"Thank you. I'm done packing."

"Ok, don't forget anything." The school attendant left the way he came, closing the door softly. Noiren relaxed. He tried to avoid any interaction with people as he found the experience… unpleasant. He stood up, slinging the backpack of Dust samples and mechanical parts over his shoulder. He walked to the corner and picked up _Rougir_ , short in its compact state. He flexed his right gloved hand, magnetizing the metal plate across the backside of his personally designed belt. He stuck the weapon to the plate and continued to the door. He paused about a meter away from the exit.

"Ahh, almost forgot my books; can't leave those behind," he said to himself, a habit he made in his unknowing loneliness. He made his way back into the room, stopping at his old mattress. He lifted it up, displaying a variety of books. There were mysteries, dramas, science fictions, adventures, and occasionally a little more...

He began to stuff each book into his bag, careful not to damage them. He stopped at one particular book.

"Hopefully I'll have enough privacy to read this one," he said, sliding the copy of "Ninjas of Love" into his coat pocket. He stood up and made his way back to the ajar door. Upon grabbing the handle, he took one last look at his room. Unimpressed, he continued leaving.

"Hopefully I don't get any roommates." He said with a sigh.

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 **Chapter** **4**

 **"Griz"**

Sweat dripped down Griz' brow. He felt nothing but the heat of the torch, heard nothing but the sound of sparking metal, saw nothing by the light of the flame. After a few seconds he stopped and pulled his tinted goggles up on his beanie.

"Here you go, Aurum." He handed the newly mended short sword to his childhood friend.

"Oh man, this is great!" Aurum paused a moment, making sure no one else was in earshot. He spoke softer this time, saying, "y'know... are you sure about leaving? Your dad _really_ doesn't want you to go." Griz sighed and reached into his inner vest pocket. He pulled out a crumpled yet elegantly designed letter, waving it in front of Aurum.

"Hehe, well Beacon's workshops are supposed to be top of the line, plus they already accepted me." Griz return the envelope to its hiding place. "Let's not talk about this right now; it was already difficult enough to grab this from the mail before Dad did. Hey, maybe I could at least make some decent friends while I'm there," Griz jeered comedically at Aurum, raising his eyebrow at him. After a short silence Aurum couldn't help but chuckle in spite of the sadness that hung in the air. Aurum lifted his blade and examined it. "At least the last thing you worked on here wasn't _that_ awful."

"I guess so," Griz chuckled.

Griz finished quietly placing his personal belongings in his duffle bag. He zipped it shut and slipped his sleeveless leather jacket over the gray swear he had on. Tiptoeing, he double checked his door was locked. Griz took in one last look at his room. Childhood treasures and scrapped projects adorned his shelves and walls. Griz felt determined and tore his gaze away, throwing the bag over his shoulder and sheathing his sword over the other. He slid the only window open and hopped the sill, landing outside on the dewy grass. He softly closed the window and slipped into the darkness. He jogged to Aurum's, only a couple minutes away. Griz tapped on Aurum's window, a familiar rhythm he's used before to alert his friend. Only waiting half a minute, a drowsy Aurum appeared and pulled the window up.

"I'm heading to the station. Give my goodbyes to everyone; would yah?"

"You're heading out already? Man... we're going to miss you." Griz averted his gaze.

"Yeah... I know, but I've made my choice."

"Just promise that you'll keep your head on your shoulders; going two towns over isn't an easy trek. Especially with all the Grimm-"

"I'll be fine, I promise." Griz pointed at the hilt of his sword, poking out from behind him. "I'll have _Kage_ with me; if I find any Grimm they won't know what hit them!" Griz turned and waved back, looking over his shoulder. "I'll come back one day, but not until I'm a certified Huntsman!" He looked forward and started for the road. Aurum watched as Griz disappeared from view, leaning on the window sill.

"Yeah... I'm sure you will be."

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 **Chapter** **5**

 **The Shuttle**

Daichi walked down the corridor of the transport ship. He looked around at the first years, hoping he would see someone he recognized. After a few minutes he gave up. He tried to hide in a shadow and separate himself from the first years.

"Daichi?" He turned towards the voice. It was his long-time friend Coco Adel. "Daichi! I never thought you'd ever get back into Beacon, what happened?" She said after giving him a quick, friendly hug.

"Ozpin reconsidered my talent. I mean, he saw that I beat the sh-" He caught himself, "…heck out of some Dust thieves."

Coco nodded.

"Very impressive. So, are you joining my class again? It's been super boring since you, uh... Left." She said with a smile.

"Nah, he said I have to redo my first year. So… I guess I'll be seeing you around?"

She took a deep, sharp breath.

"Probably not, sorry… missions and the like…uh, hey, there's my friends, I got to go. They're second years, I, uh... I'm not sure how you'll fit in, cuz you know… you're a first year. Good luck!" Before Daichi could say anything she was gone.

)(

Sage sauntered through the crowds, taking time to slip some Lien out of some unwary pockets. She snickered, counting the money she made in the ten minutes they had been on board. Sage wasn't satisfied. What else was she supposed to do for the rest of the ride? She gazed into the crowd, stopping on a large athletic boy and a few other boys standing around a Faunus. She creeped closer, anticipating them to be easy targets.

)(

Noiren stood in the space between two plants. He glanced around, anxious at all the people on the craft. This was certainly no place for an introvert. Noiren's ears perked at the sound footsteps and laughter. A hulking red-haired boy sporting armor and a crew cut slowly approached Noiren's position. He was accompanied by several other "less than gentlemanly" looking guys. Noiren just stared and thought, "Don't come over here, just keep walking past me..." In spite of his silent wish, the group walked right up to him, surrounding him.

"What's a Faunus doing on this flight? You carrying somebody's luggage?" The tall boy in the armor jeered. Noiren felt a cold sweat on his brow. Why did these bumbling teens have to force interaction with him? Noiren just stared at the obvious leader of the troupe, silent in thought and oblivious to what was actually being said.

"Hey, you deaf or something?" Said the now visibly annoyed hulk of a young man. Noiren looked around, but the other passengers were either not paying attention, or purposefully ignoring the situation. He managed to calmly choke out a simple, "No."

"Oh, so he can speak? Then why don't you answer me?" The tall boy leaned in. "What's a _Faunus_ doing here?" Noiren tried to walk away and push past the hulking teen, but he was promptly deflected back against the wall.

"Just leave me alone..." Noiren muttered, slightly louder than before.

"Whoa! Did you see that? He just assaulted me!" The boy snickered and cracked his neck. "That deserves some hind of payback, don't you think?"

"Get him Cardin!"

"Give that stinkin' Faunus what he deserves!"

Noiren just stared up at Cardin as he walked towards him threateningly.

)(

Gris was sitting on a bench, with a pair of headphones on his head. He bobbed his head up and down, singing along,

"We are lightning, striking from the thunder, miracles of ancient wonders..." Glancing to the side he noticed a group of students giggling at him. His singing trailed off and he looked away, flustered. Turning his head the other direction, a bit of commotion caught his eye. He squinted into the crowd. There were a group of boys huddled against the wall.

Griz was almost instantly perplexed by the odd fixation they had with the wall. Griz stared intently, finally noticing that they were surrounding some half-obscured person. Something he sensed hinted that whoever that figure was, it was a Faunus; specifically, one about to be on the receiving end of some serious punishment. Griz tensed and watched, contemplating walking towards them. _"If those guys are ganging up on a Faunus they got another thing coming."_ His tail wagged back and forth slowly as he anticipated the fight.

)(

Sage was watching intently now, expecting a full out brawl. What an exciting first day! She had already forgotten about pick-pocketing the students and was focused on the tension. The leader stepped up towards the feline Faunus with the half black/half gray hair.

Time slowed as she took in each detail. The tall boy flexed and laughed, riling up the small crowd. A couple other people gathered around the commotion. Sage began to chant, "Fight!" over and over. Several other students began to join in. The Faunus kept trying to walk away, but the troupe of teens wouldn't let him pass. Their leader kept stepping in front of the Faunus, toying with him. Sage stifled a laugh at this.

)(

Daichi heard a few yells, chanting, and some odd laughter. He instinctively rubbed circles on the handle of his utility pocket knife with his thumb. He looked down the shuttle's corridor at a group of people in the middle of the ship. Sensing hostility, Daichi hastily approached the source. A cheer rang out as he finally understood what was happening. Some student was blockaded against a wall by a group of much taller boys. Daichi autonomously pushed past onlookers, heading straight towards the armored young man doing the majority of antagonizing. Daichi felt a little confused at what he was doing; this wasn't his problem and yet he barely had control of his actions. He stopped right behind the circle of insults and laughter.

"Excuse me," Daichi waited for a response, clearly being ignored. Even this close he couldn't see the victim well. Daichi sighed and cleared his throat. "EXCUSE ME!" Daichi nearly shouted, finally getting the group's attention.

"Who's this guy?" the red-haired boy whispered to his nearest friend. He turned all the way around to face the newcomer. Daichi spoke up, cursing internally for putting himself in this situation.

"What are you guys doing over here?" He asked. The armored boy glared at Daichi.

"Something that's not your problem. You some guardian angel or something?" Before Daichi could respond, one of the redhead's lackeys shouted,

"Hey Cardin! He's getting away!" Cardin whipped around, allowing Daichi to catch a glimpse of whoever was surrounded slipping into the crowd. Cardin lunged at where his captive was, but he had already disappeared from sight. Cardin angrily looked back at Daichi.

"Don't think I'll forget this; Mr. _hero_."

"Oh, I was just curious about all the noise," Daichi said sheepishly, with the most genuine smile he could muster. Cardin and his gang stormed off, obviously searching for the boy who away.

Daichi let out a sigh of relief and relaxed. His attention was immediately averted as the speakers and holo-TVs crackled on on. Projected along the windows was the assistant headmaster: Glynda Goodwitch. This caught the attention of the crowd and everyone got quiet. As she spoke, Daichi forgot what just transpired, calmed and captivated by the familiar speech.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon! My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious Academy! Our world is experiencing and incredible time of peace, and as the future Hunters and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and training to protect our world."

The hologram disappeared, and all the students ran to the window to get a view of the giant castle swiftly approaching. Beacon Academy. Daichi found himself standing next to a girl about his age with long purple hair and eyes to match.

"Wonderful view, yes?" He asked her.

"Yeah…" She responded, slowly reaching towards the obvious bulge of a wallet in Daichi's jacket.

"It'd be even better if you left that wallet right where it is." He said nonchalantly. She whipped her hand back and slid it into her back pocket. Daichi turned to her and smiled.

"Props for trying, though. What's your name?"

"Sage. And yah?"

"Daichi." He said, holding out his hand, and after a moment's hesitation, Sage shook it. "I'll see you around, Sage." He said as he went to collect his things. Sage stood for a moment, reflecting on what had just happened.

" _He caught me liftin' his shit. No one's done that in a while._ " She thought to herself, stunned. " _I guess it takes one to know one though…"_ She remarked as she noticed the young man examine a girl in a white dress, and flawlessly remove a small notebook from the depths of her absurd stack of luggage.


	3. Episode 2

**Episode 2**

 **The Shining Beacon**

Noiren hid out for the remaining ten minutes of the shuttle's flight; his presence obscured by a rather loud group of girls. He could have hidden anywhere else (considering how even these girls were taller than him), but for the most part he avoided the large mass of students prowling the ship. Noiren crossed his arms and relaxed a bit. Cardin had seemingly given up on finding him, yet Noiren was still perplexed as to why he was approached to begin with. _"Out of all the Faunus here... and yet I'm 'the chosen one'. What a joke,"_ he remarked internally. Eavesdropping a bit, Noiren passed the time listening in on his cover's gossip and rumors.

"I hear that some celebrities are going here-"

"Like that Schnee-"

"I was talking about the girl that won the Mistral Regional-"

"No way! Why come here if you have that much money-"

"I bet there'll be some really cute guys here-"

"I hope they're tall!"

Noiren grimaced; a little self-conscious of his height. He found himself leaning in, trying to catch any more of their tasty dialogue.

The craft jolted to a halt and Noiren almost fell over, unprepared for the sudden lack of movement. He caught himself and as expected, heard the familiar disembarking alert.

"We have arrived at our destination. Prepare to exit the shuttle." Unexpected to Noiren, the alert was followed up by one last charming broadcast. "Welcome to Beacon Academy!"

)(

Griz grinned and breathed deeply, stepping off the platform.

"Ahh, finally, we made it!" He stretched, looking up in awe at the towering height of Beacon's main tower. "If only those losers at Vacuo could see this; the view is great!" Out of the blue, a blonde boy ran past Griz, stopping at a trash can to violently regurgitate some of ship's vending machine products. Griz walked over cautiously.

"Hey buddy, you alright?" After breathing for a moment, the boy said, "oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just... you might want to stand a little further back, I don't want to get any on your shoes." He lurched forward and proceeded to vomit what little lunch he had left. Griz grimaced and walked away with the rest of the crowd. Griz suddenly remembered the commotion from the shuttle. As if placed to ease his worries, he immediately spotted the boys that caused the ruckus. They walked unaccompanied, talking like everything was normal. _"Hope whoever they were picking on got away,"_ thoughtGriz _._

A thud followed by the clunking of cases came from his left. He heard yelling,

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Some pouty looking girl was blowing her lid over another girl sitting on the ground. Griz figured it would sort itself out and he kept walking. About twenty paces past them he suddenly felt a shockwave and a blast of heat. He glanced behind him and the girl in the white dress was smoking, covered in soot. The glimmer of Dust vials gracing the ground were easily confirmed the culprit of the explosion. Griz faced forwards once again. He pushed the incident out of his mind, recollecting his thoughts.

"Oh yeah... the opening ceremony is soon," Griz mumbled to himself. He fished around in his pockets for half a minute until he found his scroll. "There we go, now to find the time..."

)(

Noiren waited, and after most of everyone had disembarked he followed suit. He took one last glance at his surroundings, but the thugs who assaulted him were long gone. Noiren found his way to the exit. He wrinkled his nose as he walked by a trash can, reeking of vomit. _"Gross,"_ he thought.

"What are you doing?!"

Obnoxious shouting quickly drew his attention to the courtyard, where he saw some poor girl on the ground and another girl in a short white dress standing over her. The girl in white must have been fairly wealthy, judging from the number of bags scattered on the ground. The girl in red looked strangely familiar...

 _"There was that girl at signal, but she was grades below me... Eh, it's just not likely to be her,"_ Noiren thought, walking past them, (while keeping a wide berth). His attention snapped back to the quarreling girls when a fire erupted between them. Noiren startled, tensed, and thought, _"I should get out of here, this is already dangerous enough."_

Noiren quickly started towards the school again, turning around. Not paying attention, he walked straight into another student, knocking the scroll from his hands.

"Ow, hey watch where you're going!" His victim shouted. Noiren looked at the livid pedestrian. He sighed and thought, _"am I cursed today? Why does everyone insist on talking to me? And this guy's a wolf Faunus no less..."_ The gray-haired Faunus in front of Noiren glared at him, his bushy tail twitching expectantly.

"Well? You got anything to say?" Noiren stared at him for a moment before looking ahead and continuing towards the school.

"Hey what the heck?! You can't just ignore me, I'm the victim here!" Noiren turned.

"Don't talk to me please, I have important things to attend to."

)(

Griz Couldn't believe the nerve of this feline Faunus. Not only had he bumped into Griz, he was now completely disregarding him.

"What's your problem dude; don't you have manners?" The cat Faunus sighed loudly and said, "leave me alone and our relationship couldn't get any better. That, or you can try and argue the rest of the day. And, nobody wants that, especially me." The boy kept on walking, but this time Griz didn't stop him.

 _"Talk about a lousy first impression. I hope I never get to see his smug face again this year,"_ Griz angrily thought as he watched the boy walk away.

)(

Sage walked off the ship with everyone else, her rifle folded in half and slung over her shoulder. She looked around, smiling wildly. The castle was much bigger up close, and there were vantage points everywhere. She made a mental note to find the best three and a fast way to them. She held back from the group, stopping at where the path spilled into the courtyard. Sage carefully observed the school grounds, taking pictures with her scroll for later analysis. A flash of red in the corner of her eye, contrasting the glowing background. Her eyes found a girl in black, stumbling directly towards a mountain of luggage. Sage whipped her scroll towards her just in time to capture the girl's collision with the suitcases.

"What are you doing?!" The girl in white asked. The young one got up and answered.

"Uh…I'm sorry!"

"Sorry?! Do you have any idea of the damage you could've caused?"

Sage smiled as the young girl made a confused sound. She noticed out of the corner of her eye the Faunus boy in the black coat.

"This is Dust- mined and purified from the Schnee quarry."

Sage's smile disappeared as the realization that the girl in white was Weiss Schnee dawned upon her,

" _And Daichi stole her notebook_!"

Weiss continued to scold the young girl.

"What are you, brain-dead? Dust! Fire! Ice! Energy!" Weiss exclaimed while shaking a leaky bottle of Dust. "Is any of this sinking in? Are you even listening? What do you have to say for yourself?"

At that moment, a particle of Dust tickled the young girl in red's nose, and when she sneezed, the Dust set of a chain reaction causing a rather large explosion. Sage stifled a giggle. Weiss, now covered in soot, sighed heavily before continuing to scold the young girl.

)(

As Daichi got off the airship with the other students, he noticed one particular blonde boy leaning over a trash can vomiting in a volume that made him slightly concerned. He diverted his attention from "vomit boy" by reading the small journal he had lifted (rather gracefully, if he were to say so himself) from a girl with white hair and a dress to match. He flipped to the middle page, and after reading what it had to say, quickly turned to a random page, blushing wildly.

"It's ' _Zerban's law', Daichi. Anything can get more uncomfortable, will get more uncomfortable, at the most uncomfortable time_." He remarked internally, trying to forget the…unique dream detailed on the page prior. He flipped to a new page and realized just whose pockets he'd picked. The page read: _"Father locked himself in his room again. I only heard a bit, but the maids said something about a train robbery and the White Fang. Thirty million worth of Dust. This is it. I'm going to submit my application to Beacon. I have to do something to fix this."_ Daichi began to think. _"White hair…Dust robbery having a rather large impact on her father…obscene amounts of money…holy hell, I think this is Weiss Schnee's diary."_ He confirmed his suspicions by checking the front page, finding her extravagant signature. He looked around, trying to spot her "I'll just tell her she dropped it."

There was a sudden explosion, and looking to it, he found her. Much to his surprise: Ruby as well.

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" Ruby stammered out an apology. Weiss grunted. "You complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" Ruby had barely a chance to respond before Weiss kept going. "This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice you know! We're here to fight monsters, so…watch where you're going!" The young girl was fed up.

"Hey, I said I was sorry, princess!" She snapped. Daichi slowly jogged towards the scene, behind the pace of a slender, raven-haired girl dressed in night-black.

"It's heiress, actually," the newcomer corrected, presenting one of Weiss's leaky Dust bottles that rolled away. "Weiss Schnee: Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world." Weiss beamed, suddenly gleeful.

"Finally, some recognition!" The dark-haired girl continued, barely missing a beat.

"-The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces, and questionable business partners."

"I- How _dare_ you!" Weiss defended, her tone taking a 180 turn. Daichi walked up to the trio, catching the last couple lines spoke. He held out his 'found' notebook to Weiss.

"You dropped this. And, while we're on the topic, might I add-" he began, but was bluntly interrupted by the girl in black.

"The refusal to pay Faunus workers based solely on their heritage?" Daichi nodded.

"Or perhaps the illegal off-shore bank accounts," Daichi keenly suggested, drawing from his limited memory of spicy tabloid articles. Weiss looked shocked, though now even more furious.

"You showed them?!" She yelled. Daichi simply shook his head.

"That's almost common knowledge at this point. So, take your book and leave the poor girl alone." He held out the notebook again, and she took it, her face bright red.

"Why should I?" Weiss asked with strong sass. "She might be responsible for damages to _my_ property! And you, _you_ could be considered a thief!"

"Maybe because I didn't sell your journal to the first passerby I ran into," Daichi answered swiftly and coldly, taking Ruby slightly by surprise. "You should be grateful that no real damages were done; so, take your 'high and mightiness,' and leave." Weiss hesitated a moment, turned and left. Her attendants gathered the luggage that had fallen and followed, Weiss's eyes turned to the ground. Any onlookers of the confrontation all slowly left, leaving Ruby and Daichi alone. He turned to her.

"Sorry you had to see that; I can be a bit harsh sometimes. But it sounds I'm not the only one not having a magical first day, huh?" Ruby sat down and nodded.

"It _could_ be going better…" She said solemnly. Daichi sat next to her. She looked to him and smiled slightly. "You know, you never told me your name."

Daichi smiled back. "My name's Daichi. Daichi Stone." He held out his hand and Ruby shook it.

"It's very nice to meet you, Daichi. Thank you for helping me, both now and at the Dust shop."

"You're very welcome." They shared a giggle, then sat in silence for a moment before Ruby spoke again.

"I guess having some friends would help this day go a little better."

Daichi turned to her.

"Are we not friends?" He asked, mock offense in his voice. Ruby laughed.

"Of course we are! I just meant… some of my friends from Signal. I got transferred and… kind of had to leave them behind." She said with sadness returning to her voice.

"Hey," Daichi said, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Cheer up. You've got at least one friend here. And weren't you with some blonde earlier?"

"Oh, that's my sister, Yang." Ruby said.

"Well, that's two people right there."

"Yeah… Yeah, I suppose you're right!"

"Well, we should probably head to the assembly. See you later, Ruby."

"See you too, friend."

Daichi hefted his sword strap up his shoulder and walked in the direction of the central tower, waving at Ruby with his free hand.

 _"Today hasn't been too bad so far. I wonder what kind of other people I'll meet?"_ He pondered, swiftly approaching the first-year assembly for the second time.


	4. Episode 3

**Episode 3**

Daichi walked through the towering gates into the assembly hall. It all felt very familiar to him, having only done this exactly one year previously. Daichi looked for anyone familiar in the crowd, but almost everyone he knew was in their second year at Beacon. He couldn't see Ruby, assuming she hadn't found her way yet. Daichi stepped back against the wall watching. A blonde boy scooted up next to him, hardly stealthy at all. "You also not know anyone here?" Daichi nodded, still looking forward. He sighed and slowly replied.

"Yup, just standing here. By myself. Definitely awkward." Daichi looked over at who approached him, suddenly taken aback. "Hey! Aren't you vomit boy?"

"I, Well, I mean, yes that _was_ me. B-but I'm actually Jaune. Jaune Arc," the boy said sticking his hand out. Daichi grasped Jaune's hand firmly and shook.

"The name's Daichi Stone. Pleasure to meet you." Jaune winced at the strength of Daichi grip. When Daichi let go he shook out his hand, clearly in pain.

"Have you ever considered, uh, _not_ , crushing people's hands when you meet them?"

"You sure you just don't have frail hands?" Daichi teased.

"Hey, easy on the insults. I already don't have the highest self-esteem." Jaune said rather embarrassed, rubbing his hand. Daichi laughed,

"I'm kidding! You'll have a great time here; and hey, don't be so hard on yourself." Jaune visibly relaxed and laughed. Now approaching the center stage, the headmaster walked to the now powered microphone. Professor Ozpin cleared his throat and began his speech.

)(

Noiren stood outside the assembly hall, his anxiety increasing the more people he saw walk in. He exhaled. He looked at his scroll for the last time of many, once again confirming the welcome ceremony was mandatory. Slowly he shuffled through the ornate gates into the hall. He followed the walls, glaring at students oblivious to his gaze. He finally stopped in the far-left corner of the hall. He waited, either distracting himself with his scroll, or observing the new people entering. This time, watching the doors again, he recognized one of the students. It was the same boy who pestered him just over ten minutes prior.

Noiren turned away, thinking, _"Please don't look over here, I_ really _don't need you to try and argue with me."_ Much to his luck, the boy kept on walking and soon disappeared from sight. Not long after, the hall grew quiet. The introduction was finally beginning.

)(

Griz wandered the crowds; he tried to socialize, but most people ignored him and continued their personal conversations. Griz noticed the girl in the white dress had entered the hall. He watched her make her way across the room. Some girl in red backed up towards her and she instinctively looked. The air suddenly grew cold; Griz thought it was a draft, but it was strange for end of summer. Finally, it hit him: the girl in white's emotions were physically affecting the air around her. She snapped at the girl in red.

"YOU! You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" That was all Griz could make out over the noise of the other people, before their voices quieted to a stern talking level.

Griz felt something strange. Even though she seemed unremarkable earlier, he couldn't look away. Perhaps it was the scar across her brow that he sympathized with, he himself bearing several of his own. Perplexed, he looked away. Doing so he finally noticed the professor from the hologram and some man that was unknown to Griz. Other people just started to notice, as they didn't have the level of hearing that Faunus possessed. He turned and stood attentively, ready to receive their words.

)(

Sage lurked around the outside of the main complex. Scouting the area, she observed a door further down the wall. Smiling, she walked to it, curious of what secrets it held. She reached out and jiggled the knob. Her smile faded. It was locked. Cursing, Sage scanned her surroundings, devoid of people, before slamming the butt of her rifle against the doorknob. After two sharp hits Sage triumphantly popped the door open. She shut the door behind her. In near complete darkness, one lone lightbulb illuminated the outlines of a spiraling staircase. Not nearly fully satisfied with her discovery, Sage began to ascend the iron work, one, two, and finally three stories before reaching a door at the top. She discovered this one unlocked and found herself atop a balcony overlooking the entire assembly hall.

 _"What luck! Now this is my kind of view!"_ Sage thought. She crouched, even though she was completely enveloped in shadows, and pulled the scope free from her rifle. She scanned the crowd, sizing up the audience. She stopped at Daichi.

" _Seems someone made a new friend_." She giggled the second she recognized the boy next to him. The very same one that couldn't handle the shuttle ride without losing his lunch. She panned her sight across the room. In the closest corner she observed the Faunus harassed on the flight. He stood by himself, moving away nonchalantly when anyone got close. " _Talk about socially awkward,_ " Sage jeered. She moved the lens again and found the other Faunus boy, with obviously canine features. He was facing away from Sage, but his tail was wagging furiously. She followed his gaze to the girl in the white dress from before. Sage put down the scope chuckling and thought, _"boy there sure are a lot of weirdos at this school,"_ unaware of how odd she was in comparison. A flash of gold below caught her attention. She snapped the scope over and her mind drew a blank.

In her sights was a tall, proud, attractive blonde, standing next to the girl in the red hood. Sage hadn't ever felt too strong of an attachment with anyone, but for some reason, this mysterious girl caught Sage's eye like an athlete in roach trap glue. The speakers on stage squealed, turning on. The headmasters walking out in suit. Sage looked to the new arrivals, making a mental note to dig into the golden-haired girl's identity. Sage stared through her scope at the blonde head master. Glynda Goodwitch was her name, if she remembered correctly. Not too impressed, Sage turned her attention to the other headmaster. He stood tall, with silver hair and a cane. She watched calmly for a moment, until his eyes slowly drifted up. They stopped, looking straight at her. She startled, and yet kept staring in sheer awe. He raised an eyebrow before gazing ahead and clearing his throat.

"I'll… keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you are finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you… and all I see is wasted energy. In need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you, to take the first step."

The entire audience was silent. Tension and confusion hung in the air over Ozpin's words. Glynda Goodwitch stepped up as Ozpin walked to the right. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight, tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You're dismissed."

)(

Griz had forgotten what he was thinking before; all that was in his mind were Ozpin words. He thought,

 _"Wasted energy... what is this guy rambling about? I'm already pretty great; surely he can't be serious."_

)(

Noiren thought with a small smile,

" _hmm... I like this guy._ "

)(

Sage leaned back against the wall. People were dispersing and masses left the hall. She laughed shortly, breathlessly, unknowingly shaken by the speech.

)(

Daichi pondered over Ozpin's speech, with Ruby strangely pervading his thoughts. He'd heard a similar speech the previous year, so he forced it out of his mind, and exited the new quiet hall.

)(

Night had fallen, and all the first years, (and pseudo first year Daichi), had gathered in the ballroom. Griz strutted between the rows of students, looking for a place to put his bedroll. He saw a clearing amongst the mass of bodies. Griz quickly approached, claiming it before observing his surroundings. He laid out his sleeping bag and glanced at the boy next to him. He jerked back in surprise and looked away in embarrassment. He was mere inches away from the near nude body of a rather well-built student.

 _"Well that's probably why the other guys were steering clear,"_ Griz thought disgustedly.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have an extra shirt would you?" Griz turned around slowly. The owner of the athletic torso was facing him. Griz' face grew hot as he struggled against the magnetic pull of his abdomen. He had earthen brown hair and stared at Griz with bright green eyes.

"Um, uh... yeah, sure. I think I might have a few..." The boy grinned tenaciously and said,

"Great! Oh sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Daichi Stone." He stuck out his hand, anticipating a friendly handshake. Griz eyed the hand blankly for a moment before realizing what Daichi was doing. Griz took Daichi's hand and shook,

"Griz Baxter, nice to meet you, I guess. "

"Likewise!" After a short silence Griz replied,

"So, might I ask why you need a shirt?"

"In the rush and excitement to get to Beacon it seem I forgot to pack a change." Daichi said, a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

"Oh, sure. I have one that might fit you; you're a bit larger than me though..."

"That's fine. You know, I was getting a bit lonely; it's like I'm wearing people repellent," Daichi joked. Griz looked around and Daichi's statement was confirmed by the absence of any students near them.

"So it would seem. Maybe it's because you're shirtless in your boxers?" Daichi looked down, then looked around. He noticed some girls eyeing him and giggling; even some guys, too. Daichi crossed his arms over his chest and said, "maybe... but seriously, could I borrow that shirt?" Griz laughed and handed it over. After squeezing into the loaned tee, Daichi realized that it didn't really help. It was so tight it was like he still had no shirt.

"Well, it's better than nothing," Daichi said, shrugging.

"You know, not everyone is as nice as you, with me being a Faunus and all," said Griz. Daichi leaned back, contemplating.

"No kidding... but you won't have to worry about me; you seem like a pretty cool guy. " Griz smiled.

"Well, you are certainly _much_ more pleasant than some other people I've met today!"

)(

Noiren was extremely uncomfortable. There were just as many people from the assembly, crammed into an even smaller room. He shuddered at the thought that he would have to share sleeping quarters with this many people. He walked unobtrusively to the far wall, making his way to a space in between the gender groups. He sat down against the wall. He looked around, curious of his surroundings. Nothing too interesting was happening on the girls' side. On the other side some boys were flexing, laughing, with half of them shirtless. Some mystical force drew Noiren's eyes towards two students in particular. He narrowed his eyes at the wolf Faunus from earlier, now talking with a much larger human. Noiren grimaced and glanced at others and found Cardin, the boy who attacked him. Cardin was staring in loving awe at the muscular boy with the Faunus, not looking away for anything. Noiren looked back to his belongings thinking, _"At least tomorrow will be better. I'll actually be able to_ do _something; and it won't be getting harassed by any more idiots."_ Noiren smirked, thinking about finally testing out his recently redesigned weapon.

)(

Sage glanced over the crowd of tired teens, unimpressed. She worked her way the middle of the girl's side of the room, plopping her sleeping mat right where some other girl was about to put her stuff. The girl was about to retort, but Sage whipped her head around and hissed at the girl. The girl backed up and slinked away. Sage stuck out her tongue and proceeded to untie her mat, stopping when she put the cord in her pocket. Sage felt around furiously.

"Shit!" Sage had dropped one her many knives. She stood up and began to retrace her steps, staring at the ground. Not paying attention, she walked straight into someone and fell back onto the floor.

"Ow, hey are you ok?" The stranger asked. Sage looked up slowly. The golden-haired girl from the assembly was looking down on her, softly smiling. Sage just stared blankly, unable to completely register what was happening. "Hello? Remnant to... Whoever you are, you need a hand?" Sage slowly nodded. The girl reached to grasp Sage's hand, pulling her up with ease.

"Yang? What are you doing? It's bedtime, come on..." Some girl yawned from behind Sage. Yang smiled at Sage, striking her in the heart, before looking past and walking away. Sage watched as Yang flopped down beside who she assumed has her sister. Sage slowly went back to her bedroll, forgetting why she had even got up in the first place. Sage couldn't see Yang, obscured by the girls between them. She grabbed her bed roll and looked for a better viewpoint. There was a big opening in the middle of the students along the wall. Sage wobbled over and plopped down, (dragging her bedroll over the other students). She stared at Yang for a minute before noticing the eyes glaring at her from only a few feet away.

"Well if it isn't the fantastic Faunus! Saw you get your ass kicked; boy, _that_ gave me a laugh!" The black and gray-haired Faunus looked at her in disgust. Sage, realizing this, grew stern before grinning maniacally. "Oh, come one, lighten up! Yah made it to beacon, and yah only got your ass handed ta yah by _one_ guy; that's two reasons ta be happy! That's more than what the average dolt'll get from their first day."

The Faunus sighed and said, "why are you talking to me? I thought it was obvious enough I'm not a people Faunus..."

"Chillax bro, I'm just your friendly neighborhood Sage Winchester being a nuisance ta all!"

)(

Noiren was perplexed, what did this person get out of talking to him? He figured there was no way to really get rid of her.

"Okay I guess... I'm Noiren Liquet. Don't think you can pry for more; I already didn't want to tell my name." Sage smiled, this was the response she wanted. She stuck out her hand.

"Well nice ta meet yah Norry, I'm Sage!"

"It's Noiren, and you already introduced herself."

"Pshhh, I'll call yah what I want Norry. And yah just got the privilege ta hear my name twice!" Noiren couldn't help but stifle a chuckle. "See!? Yah ain't an emotionless robot, so why bother acting like it?" Noiren's smile faded.

"Because I simple despise unwanted attention," he said, narrowing his eyes. Sage scoffed and retorted, "Don't act so high and mighty, yah need to lighten up a little. Yah think you're special, but everyone in this damn room is 'special'." Noiren was startled. Her soapbox speech was extremely unexpected based off what little he knew of Sage.

"Sage? You don't sound like yourself."

"What are yah talking about, I'm Sage 23/7! Now are you going to shake my hand or not, I've had it up for like two minutes and it's killing me." Noiren moved his right hand behind him and reached out with his left hand. Sage switched hands, looking carefully into Noiren's eyes. "Why'd yah switch hands, Norry?" Sage prodded. Noiren felt unnerved by her gaze; the hairs on the back of his neck rose.

 _"This girl is something dangerous,"_ he thought. Noiren answered cautiously, "I'm just left handed, that's all."

"Uh huh. Interesting," Sage said. "Yah planning on sleeping in that jacket?" Noiren realized he needed to back off; Sage was prying specific information off of him. She was good.

"I just haven't taken it off yet-"

"Sure... WELL! G'night Norry!" Sage flopped over, taking Noiren by surprise with the sudden change in attitude. Noiren scooted a little further from Sage and took his jacket off. He was wearing two shirts: a gray V-neck over a gold T-shirt and his right arm was sleeved entirely in a bullet proof glove, going all the way up his arm into his shirt. He laid down, listening to the commotion dying down. He too fell asleep, his last thoughts of how he had somehow made a very confusing friend.

)(

Sage rolled over. Now that she was done talking she could focus on what she went over there for. She could see Yang now, and she watched until she fell asleep, clutching one her other hidden knives.


	5. Episode 4

**Episode 4**

 **The First Step**

Noiren was alert at first light. The ballroom was silent, albeit Sage snoring. Noiren sat up and rolled over into a crouch. He picked up his jacket, slipping both arms in before rolling up his sleeping bag. He fastened it with a metal binder and put it on his back, locking it in with the magnetic plate. Noiren relaxed; now that he was packed he could leave. " _My gear is the locker room; I suppose I should retrieve it before it's crowded,_ " thought Noiren. He walked towards the middle of the room for a couple of feet, stopping underneath the edge of the balcony above him. He leaped up, grabbing the top of the railing. Having the mobility of a Faunus was very handy in times like this. He turned around, squatting on the railing, searching for the exit. Upon spotting it he hopped onto the balcony and slinked towards the door.

)(

Daichi woke up around the same time half of the room was awakening. He sat up and looked over at Griz. Griz was still fast asleep. " _Well, I suppose I shouldn't wake him. He's gonna need the rest._ " Daichi packed his bedroll and stood up, sleeping bag under his arm. He looked around and spotted Yang exiting the ballroom, Ruby skipping in tow. Daichi squinted in confusion. Trying to remember where they were headed. As soon as Ruby left his field of view, he figured that they were going to breakfast. Daichi began to slowly jog through the minefield of half-asleep students. He rounded the wall cornering the door, exiting ballroom.

)(

Sage sneezed, waking herself up. She was sleeping with her face buried in the pillow. She bolted up, not able to see through her tangled mass of hair. She parted her it with her hands and spotted Daichi walking to the exit. Sage was immediately alert and grabbed her sleeping bag, running through the crowd. She ended up hitting people with her bedroll again and stepped on quite a few others. She didn't even notice that Noiren was gone.

)(

Noiren quietly entered the locker room. On every wall there were rocket propelled lockers. He found his locker and closed his eyes, putting his left hand on the door. He tapped his finger and listened. He relaxed as he heard the echo exclaim to him that his gear was still in place. Noiren checked the time, breakfast was in about an hour and a half. He punched in the numbers of his locker combination save for the last digit; he was preparing for the possibility of needing to grab his gear quickly and leave. Noiren walked down the hall, eyes closed, tapping every locker door and listening in an attempt to figure out what kind of weapons people used. He needed to know the competition.

He recognized a mace, a thin straight-sword (that also smelled of gun oil), a sniper rifle, a sword and shield (which Noiren laughed at), a rapier, two short blades and pistol, and various other gun/blade hybrids. But, the last locker in the row was different. Noiren furrowed his brow, tapping multiple times. He couldn't hear the echo of his taps, as if they were absorbed by a void. He couldn't distinguish the shape or type of weapon, and to Noiren the locker seemed to hum with energy. He looked up, memorizing the locker number, determined to find out what it was. He continued monitoring lockers until 30 minutes before breakfast. He left, hoping to avoid traffic.

)(

Griz heard a muffled noise and slowly opened his eyes. He groggily looked around, squinting in the bright light.

"Mr. Baxter was it? I suggest you prepare for the initiation. Or at least get up and moving. I believe you will find your classmates have all left to prepare." Griz Looked straight up and Glynda Goodwitch was staring down at him. Griz jumped in his skin and his face grew red. He quickly rolled over and started to gather his things in the now empty ballroom. Glynda sighed in relief and walked away, looking at her scroll.

Griz followed her into an ornate beige hallway. The further he walked the greater the sound of talking grew. He followed the noise and came to a board room turned cafeteria. Everyone was eating pancakes with no syrup as some girl in a pink skirt with orange hair had confiscated it all. Griz scanned for anyone recognizable. He saw the half black-haired cat Faunus sitting by himself. Griz groaned and continued searching. He saw Daichi surrounded by girls, but Daichi didn't even seem to notice. Griz rolled his eyes, assuming the cause was Daichi's shirtless display from the previous night. Finally he located several open seats by a purple haired girl. Griz furrowed his brow as he made his way closer; he swore she wasn't at the opening ceremony. He brushed it off and sat down. There was already a place set for him, but before he could do anything she snatched a pancake from his plate. Griz snapped at her.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing, that's my food!" She swallowed the pancake and began picking crumbs out of her teeth. She looked over at him smugly.

"Yah snooze yah lose. Shoulda been quicker." Griz scoffed and retorted, "don't you have a shred dignity!?" The girl plucked another pancake from someone else's plate and spoke through a mouthful of food.

"Nope. Now I suggeth thut yah eat fasther-" she swallowed, "or yah'll end up with nothing left ta eat." She slowly reached towards Griz' plate, but right as she lunged for his meal he stabbed his fork in the table, blocking her path. She looked up from mid-lunge slowly and grinned at Griz.

"Yah caught me!" She narrowed her eyes, "not just anyone could stop me… Who are yah?" Griz pulled his plate away, "Uhh, I'm Griz, I guess..." The girl with purple hair burst out laughing, attracting a couple concerned stares.

"Yah guess? Do yah not even know yah own name? I'd say yah look like a Milford ta me."

"What kind of name is Milford- of course my name is Griz! And you can't just ask for my name without giving yours." She looked blankly at Griz for a moment.

"Oh yeah! Pffssh. Of course, I was going ta tell yah my name. Hehe, why would I ever avoid doing THAT?" Griz just continued glaring at her. "You're no fun... It's Sage." The oddity now known as Sage stood up quickly and loudly, knocking her chair to the floor. "See yah Griz!" Sage walked away, snatching another pancake off another unsuspecting student. Griz looked at her plate. Not a single pancake has been touched, just the ones on plates around it. Griz thought, _"what a strange person,"_ and began to eat in peace.

)(

Daichi strutted down the hall, unaware of the decently sized group of girls in tow. He took in the familiar setting of Beacon's halls, making his way to retrieve his sword. He made a left and found himself at his destination: the locker-room. He pulled his scroll out and walked down the first row. He saw Ruby further down and he sped up. He slowed, stopping a short distance from her. Ruby didn't notice as she bantered with Yang.

"My dearest sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?"

"What? No, of course I do, I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... Break out of your shell!" As sincere Yang tried to sound, she tugged at her hair nervously; a dead giveaway to her excuses.

"I don't need to break out of my shell, this is absolutely ridiculous!"

"Well, it's still early in the school year, and being on a team is a great way to meet new people."

"Hey Ruby, couldn't help but overhear you guys are talking about teams?" Daichi interjected, stepping up. Yang nervously smiled and pointed at Daichi.

"Like this guy! You seem to know him, be on his team!" Ruby stuck out her tongue at Yang.

"Maybe I will! You'll spend the whole year wishing you were on team Ruby!"

Daichi spoke up, "Since every team is made up of four people, there's a chance you two could end up together. It is completely random however." _"Random may not be the whole truth, but knowing won't really help the conversation,"_ Daichi thought.

"What! You mean our preference isn't counted at all?!" exclaimed Ruby. Yang raised an eyebrow.

"You seem to know how this works. Were you held back a year or something?" Daichi only replied with,

"I... Well…" He rubbed his arm nervously and looked down. "Yeah, you could say that…"

"Okay... He seems, nice? Well! You seem to be making all kinds of interesting friends this year Ruby. Just let chance decide, and who knows, you might be on a team of friends! Or complete strangers!"

"That doesn't help! I want to be on a team with you!" Ruby whined. Daichi rested a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Just wait and see Ruby, I'm confident that things will end well for us all." Ruby nodded, about to speak. She closed her mouth, as if changing her mind. Daichi continued on his way, walking past her. He noticed the Weiss and a tall, red-haired girl talking. He recognized the scarlet-haired girl almost immediately and stopped. He said, "Hey, you're Pyrrha Nikos, right?" She looked over at him with radiant green eyes.

"Yes, I am. It's a pleasure to meet you... You are?"

"Daichi Stone. I recognized you from Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes. My brother eats it a lot." Pyrrha laughed a little.

"Oh, so you have a little brother?"

"No. He's a deadbeat in his twenties." Daichi replied with a mischievous smirk on his face. Pyrrha's smile faded a little, either out of pity or shock.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be. It's his own choices that led him there. Anyways, I have to get my stuff. Maybe I'll see you around sometime?" Pyrrha nodded and warmly smiled.

"Likewise. Farewell Daichi!" Daichi turned and made his way further down the wall. He stopped at the last locker in the row. His locker.

)(

Noiren stood motionless against the wall, _Rougir_ resting on his back. He waited, watching the locker holding the mysterious weapon with a curious intensity. Eventually someone approached. It was a tall boy in a brown overcoat. Noiren stared in anticipation. The dark-haired boy put in the wrong combination a couple times and had to refer to his scroll. Noiren rolled his eyes.

" _Only the finest students make it into Beacon. If this guy is best of the best, then surely I have nothing to worry about._ " Finally, the locker opened. The boy reached in and pulled out a tall black sword. It was wide and flat, rectangular, with the end forked to create a handle and handguard. Noiren noticed almost invisible veins running from base of the hilt up the blade. Noiren approached the sword wielding boy, too curious to perpetuate self-isolation.

"I couldn't help but notice your weapon. What is it?" The boy seemed surprised that anyone had noticed him. He smiled, hefting the sword up on his shoulder, saying,

"This here is a very special sword. Couldn't tell you where I got it, but it's certainly unique!" Noiren was blindly intrigued now. He leaned closer, finally noticing thin gaps in the blade, effectively segmenting it into six slabs above the hilt.

"Why is it split like that?" Noiren questioned, gesturing towards the lines perpendicular to the blade.

"Huh?" The boy in the overcoat was surprised. He said, "You know, I never thought anyone could see that. Basically, it makes it a bit more flexible if you power it with Dust. It can do all sorts of things depending on the Dust." Noiren looked into the boy's eyes with excitement. "Where did you get such a strange sword; I mean, did you make it? What's your name?" The boy held out his hand.

"I'm Daichi, Daichi Stone. And I guess you could say I, uh, 'inherited' this sword." Noiren reached out and took Daichi's hand, not bothering to use his left hand.

"I'm Noiren Liquet. I've just never seen a sword like that." Noiren was thrilled. It had been a while since he had last seen such a unique weapon, much less a decently pleasant person wielding it. As their handshake ended, Daichi noted how firm Noiren's hand was. He leaned to the side and glanced up at the lance on Noiren's back.

"I see you've got something too. Could I see it?" Noiren casually reached behind him and pulled out his compact polearm. He held it still for a moment. It was a meter-long rode with a barrel and revolver mechanism on one side, and nothing on the other. He triggered the release and the pole expanded quickly, telescoping outwards into a two-meter lance. The blade slid out from the top and expanded outwards, and the gun barrel expanded to compensate. Daichi stepped back, startled at the quick transformation.

"Wow! Where'd you get that?" Noiren smirked at Daichi's amazement.

"I made it at signal. Everyone there makes their own weapons." Daichi smiled, in recognition.

"I remember; I used to go to signal myself!"

"Really? I'm sorry for not remembering you. I guess you were in my class and I didn't notice."

"Yeah... I actually graduated from Signal two years ago," Daichi said with a sheepish look, catching Noiren by surprise.

"Really? Well, us Signal kids should stick together, don't you think?" Noiren suggested.

 _"This guy's pretty nice. I don't think I've made a friend with anyone this quick before,"_ Noiren thought to himself, relaxed in Daichi's company.

"Yeah. Who knows, we might even end up on the same team!"

)(

Griz retrieved his chokutō and slammed the locker shut. He noticed Daichi at the end of the row in conversation with another student. He was showing off his sword, obstructing them from Griz' view. Griz grinned and began to walk towards Daichi. His smile faded as he got closer. Daichi was talking with the annoying Faunus from the courtyard like nothing was wrong. Griz swiftly stepped up to Daichi.

"Hey, Daichi. Who's your new, _'friend'_ here?"

Daichi calmly replied,

"Oh, hey Griz. This is Noiren. He knows a lot about weapons, and we were just talking about ours. What's your piece?"

Griz ignored Daichi's question, and instead looked over at Noiren in disgust, but Noiren hardly payed attention to him, far more engrossed in studying Daichi's weapon. Griz whispered to Daichi, but loudly enough that Noiren would hear,

"Don't talk to this guy, he's a jerk who only cares for himself." Daichi raised an eyebrow,

"He seems fine to me. Don't know what side you're seeing." Griz stepped up to Noiren, who had finally noticed him.

"Oh. It's _you._ Why must you insist on always crossing my path," said Noiren smugly. Griz retorted, more visibly irritated.

"I don't know who you think you are, but I know that I don't like you _or_ your attitude, and people like Daichi over here ought to not talk to you." Sage leaned her face in between Griz and Noiren's. They jumped back, Griz shouting,

"Oh, not you! Where'd you come from?!" Sage grinned with a devilish look in her eye.

"I know not where I've come from, or where I'll go. Where'd I come from cotton eye-"

"Sage! Hey, how you doing," Daichi interrupted. She looked over at him and gave an ear to ear smile.

"Why hello there, master thief! I was just about ta say hi to my good buddy Norry!" She leaned toward Noiren and swung an arm around his shoulder.

"Please don't call me that. I guess trusting you with my name was too much to expect," groaned Noiren.

"It makes sense; all the people that irritate me just so happen to all be buddies. Great," Griz scoffed. Noiren stepped up to Griz in an attempt to be intimidating, standing several inches under Griz.

"I never wanted to meet you either, so go your way, and I'll go mine." Griz growled, hair raising on his neck and tail. Daichi stepped towards them, about to speak when the intercom came on.

"Will all first-year students please report to Beacon cliff for initiation. Again, all first-year students report to Beacon cliff immediately."

Griz glared at Noiren before walking off, still growling from the encounter. Daichi relaxed, he turned and found Sage looking at him with a goofy grin. She patted her rifle, spun around and smoothly walked backwards through the exit. Daichi looked back to Noiren, who was angrily watching Griz leave. Daichi clapped his hand on Noiren's shoulder with a thud and spoke.

"Just ignore him Noiren. He's nice, but he is kind of a hot head. Just so you know, I think you'd be great on anyone's team, and I hope I would be lucky enough to be on yours." He felt Noiren's shoulder relax as he looked to Daichi.

"Thank you... But we really should be going now." He shrunk his lance, sticking it to his back and walked away, brushing Daichi's hand away. Daichi was left standing alone. Smiling.

)(

It was midday and the sun was glaring down, nearly blinding through the clear sky. Ozpin spoke to all the students gathered on the metal starting plates.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors. Today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Professed Goodwitch took the reins of the speech.

"Now I'm sure all of you heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today." Daichi looked around. He knew about five people which was pretty good. He looked at Ruby. He almost wished he could be her teammate... "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So, it is your best interest to be paired with someone whom you can work well with."

For Daichi, time slowed as his thoughts raced back to his old team. He stared ahead. A lone tear ran down his face. He hardly noticed, letting it dry in the wind as Ozpin continued.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Daichi smirked in nostalgia. His speech hadn't changed at all since the previous year. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die."

Sage chuckled at the thought of finally being able to shoot something.

Griz gripped his sword in anticipation.

Noiren stood still as he thought of Ozpin's words, and who he'd want as his partner.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But, our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and be graded appropriately. Are there any questions?" Daichi, who was closest, heard Jaune respond, "yeah, um sir-" "Good. Now, take your positions." Daichi readied himself. From his far left the platforms started springing students into the air.

)(

Noiren crouched on all fours. He felt the mechanism release and he pushed off as his platform swung forwards, effectively launching himself faster and higher than it should have.

)(

Sage giggled. She snapped a salute to Daichi, who was looking in her direction. Her platform flipped her up and she somersaulted into the air, laughing wildly.

)(

Griz swung his weapon down, firing several explosive dust rounds before it transformed back into a sword. The explosions propelled him upwards in addition to the platform's momentum. The singed hair on his tail left a contrail as he rocketed into the forest.

)(

Daichi closed his eyes for a moment. He heard the person next to him launch. He opened his eyes and soon as the platform released he thought to himself, _"Showtime."_


	6. Episode 5

**Episode 5**

Daichi glided through the air, only a few moments from hitting the tree tops. He gripped his sword in anticipation, far more prepared for his descent than the year prior. Granted, he didn't have this weapon the previous year. His fingers danced across the grip, bringing the blade to life with a hum. The top slab came free, followed by the next five as his feet began grazing the highest branches. The began to spin around Daichi, creating a massive vertical saw. He plummeted into the foliage, immediately cutting through any offshoots in his path. In his wake massive tree limbs crashed to the ground, sliced cleanly through.

Daichi cut through the last of the leafy overhang and found himself rapidly approaching the ground. He pointed his leg towards the ground and swung the sword hilt between them. The slabs followed the hilt with a delay, whipping in front of him the second after. They turned perpendicular to him, evenly spaced between him and the forest floor. He landed on the nearest slab, crouching slightly as it slowed his decent. The blades hummed louder, slowing him and compressing like a spring. Daichi came to a stop and hopped off his makeshift landing pad. His fingers inputted one final command as he held the sword hilt to his right. Each segment followed his movements, flying around and slamming into place, one by one. The top blade locked into place and the blade silenced itself, now just another hunk of metal. Daichi reached over his should and pulled the leather strap wrapping around him. He dropped the blade, letting it slide into its carrying sheath.

Some distant yells, screams, and crashing sounds could be heard all around him. Daichi grinned and sprinted towards the loudest sound, hoping he would find his new partner soon.

)(

Noiren pressed the thumb pad on _Rougir_ and the lance expanded to its full size. He gripped it with both hands and pointed the blade upwards. He fired the revolving shotgun beneath him, propelling himself higher. The sound of approaching explosions caught his attention and he glanced over his shoulder. Some golden-haired girl rocketed past him, missing Noiren by only a few feet. She shot downwards with her gauntlets, and after a moment, somersaulted into the trees.

 _"Landing by her wouldn't be a good idea; that's just too much crazy for me,"_ Noiren remarked internally. Not paying attention to his descent, Noiren's foot caught on a branch. He choked out a yelp as he tumbled into the tree tops. Crashing through limbs and leaves, Noiren managed to fire downwards and cut his velocity in half. He broke through the tree tops, unscathed through his aura.

He suddenly became aware of the glowing red eyes he was plummeting towards. Noiren spun _Rougir_ around and thrust the blade right into the face of an Ursa. It howled in pain as he planted his feet in its skull. He managed to quickly pull out his lance, pushing off the Ursa and finally landing several meters away. He stood up and looked at his opponent. It was a mid-sized Ursa; nothing he couldn't handle. Noiren temporarily telescoped his lance, spinning the Dust cylinder and stopping it on a purple vial. The Ursa roared and charged, bearing down on him with rage in its eyes. Noiren stepped back, holding his lance to his side, ready to thrust at his foe. He clasped the back trigger, firing the shotgun. _Rougir_ pulled him forwards and Noiren triggered the front mechanism, releasing gravity Dust into the blade. He stabbed into the Ursa's abdomen, more impactful due to the shotgun propulsion. The air hung for a moment as Noiren stared into the Ursa's soulless eyes. The gravity Dust exploded with energy, amplifying the force fivefold. Noiren stumbled back with recoil, and the Ursa launched into the trees. Noiren regained his footing, confident that he had finished off the beast. He turned to his right and sprinted north.

)(

Sage cartwheeled through the air, her purple locks trailing in the wind. She held her rifle to her chest, silent as she started her descent. A sweet carol of laughter rang out to her right. Yang shot past her position from 100 meters away. Sage's eyes followed her in an attempt to track where she'd land.

 _"Can't pass up that opportunity; She's gonna be mine!"_

Sage hurtled towards the earth of Remnant, a massive old tree directly in her path. Sage concentrated, activating her semblance. To her everything was normal, but the world around her was different. Every chirp of an insect, Beowulf call in the distance, and rustle of leave sped up, raising to a high-pitched hum. To an outsider she would be moving in slow motion, and any force she exerts would be cut to a fraction. Sage kicked out and slowed into a crouch, landing on a wide branch. One... two... three seconds passed and everything slowed back to normal.

Her semblance, time perception, alters the speed of her actions and awareness for three seconds at a time. She can either weaken forces exerted by or on her through speeding time up or double the force by slowing time. She can use it to improve her attacks and reaction time or protect herself by dampening forces exerted by increasing the contact time.

Sage stood up, her semblance unusable for the next five minutes. By muscle memory she released her rifle lock and it unfolded, barrel extending, and scope flipping up. She squinted through the scope, adjusting it while searching the direction where she assumed Yang had landed. Sage giggled and began jumping the gaps, branch to branch towards Yang, always staying on the highest ground.

)(

Flipping and spinning in the air, Griz was having the time of his life. His flight path began to arc downwards. As Griz looked to where he would land he saw not trees, but a small clearing. He gritted his teeth. He had placed his bets that he would be able to use the trees to slow down.

Griz twisted the uniquely designed drum, housing separate chambers of Dust and munition, and stopped at a deep purple Dust phial. The mechanism cocked automatically as Griz sped towards what was certain death, (for a normal person.) Griz pulled the front hand grip forward, flipping the end of his blade up and exposing the submachine gun barrel within. He shakily aimed at the clearing and let out a volley of dust infused rounds. Upon impact a cascade of water erupted from the ground. Griz tucked one arm in and kicked out with his other leg, spinning him away from the ground with the air resistance. He spread eagle his limbs and plummeted into the newly made pool of water. The impact quickly saved him from the fall but knocked the wind out of him. As the water spread thin and was absorbed by the dry ground, Griz sat up, groaning.

"At least this thing is water proof." He shook the water off his jacket and flexed his arms, stretching his back. He looked up at the sky. Using the sun, he looked to his left; he had to go North. He turned and ran into the dense foliage. He slashed in front of him, cutting through stalks of plants.

)(

Noiren jogged through the trees, wary of his surroundings. He complained aloud to himself, groaning.

"I've been walking for like, ten minutes. Surely I can't be far from the temple." Noiren stopped walking for a moment. "Oh yeah... We're supposed to find our partners. I suppose it is in my best interest to find someone somewhat tolerable." Noiren thought for a moment. "That Daichi was alright. He's probably the best choice I have." Noiren looked up, trying to get a bearing of his surroundings.

 _"Daichi launched after me,"_ Noiren thought, _"so he must be to my South."_ Noiren turned and began jogging, opposite of where Daichi actually was.

)(

After walking for a while Griz heard what sounded like talking to his left. He crouched and peeked through the foliage. His felt his heart sink. He saw the girl in white and the red hooded girl looking at each other. Griz turned and drudgingly started to jog the other way. "I can't believe she already found a partner. And it wasn't me..." Griz started sprinting, unknowingly building up anger and jealousy. After a minute he howled in frustration and drew his blade, slicing through the nearest tree. The trunk thudded to the ground, causing the bird to scatter. After a short moment of silence Griz heard growling behind him. A Beowulf was creeping up on him, attracted by the negative emotions swirling inside Griz

"Great, you now!? You wanna go?!" The Beowulf snarled louder and started to charge towards Griz. Griz growled, louder than the Grimm. The Beowulf swung sideways at Griz. He ducked and stabbed the barrel of the gun into the Beowulf, rotating the drum on his sword. The vail in place glowed a crimson as intense as his rage. Griz yelled, firing round after round into the unfortunate Beowulf. The creature howled but was soon silenced by its own fiery disintegration. Griz was panting; sweat on his brow. He stood up and wiped his face. He turned back the way he was going and continued walking, sheathing _Kage_ back in its sword form.

)(

As Noiren was running through the woods he thought, _"What if someone already found him... I suppose I should think of backups."_ He vaguely remembered a black-haired girl that had caught his eye. _"No... Uhh, too distracting."_ He searched his memory once again, thinking, _"Sage! But I'm not sure how long I can go hearing 'Norry'. A whole four years, no thanks!"_ Noiren laughed to himself at this. He continued thinking. He thought he only knew one more person...

)(

Griz stomped through the trees, hands in his pockets. He had calmed down and was trying to think. "Maybe I can catch Daichi. I thought he landed somewhere over here." At that moment Griz stumbled into what seemed like a tornado's path at first glance. Diagonally from the sky the trees' limbs had been clean cut, now resting on the ground. Griz listened in anticipation. He heard nothing; who ever had done this had been long gone. Griz walked to the far edge of the destruction, examining the severed branches for a minute. He stopped, hearing something running through the brush in the distance.

"That sure doesn't sound like a Beowulf; I bet that's another student! Ooh! Maybe it's Daichi." Griz began to sprint towards the sound through the leaves, not even bothering to cut them down. His tail wagged furiously in anticipation. He was going to meet his partner! He heard the sound getting closer; they must have heard him, too.

)(

Noiren heard what sounded like someone crashing through the forest. He smiled, thinking it was Daichi. He ran faster towards the sound. He remembered something, answering his question from earlier.

"Oh yeah there's that wolf Faunus. Even Sage would be better than him." Noiren braced his arms in front of his face and stumbled through the last bit of brush. He slowly looked up. Standing before him was his new partner. The partner that would be with him for the next four years.

)(

Griz stared at Noiren in stunned silence. "You, have got to be kidding me,"Griz said, not even bothering to keep his thoughts to himself.

)(

Noiren just stood where he was, cursing himself for jinxing this encounter. Staring at him was his new permanent partner, Griz, the wolf Faunus.

"You never fail to impress me. Are you that insistent on being in my way you had to find me _again?"_ Noiren exclaimed.

)(

"No. No way, man. I am not partnering with you!" Griz' vision clouded with anger. His fist clenched and he felt strongly to punch Noiren in the face. As if sensing Griz' hostility Noiren grabbed his lance and it expanded, pointed right at him.

"Whoa man! Chillax! You're not supposed to attack other students!" Noiren didn't say anything. He just glared right Griz. He stopped moving for a moment and lunged at Griz, spinning his lance forwards at him. Griz instinctively reached for his blade, but he knew on the inside he wouldn't have enough time to parry. Noiren slammed the butt end of _Rougir_ into the ground in front of Griz and fired the shotgun. He launched upwards into the air, flipping over Griz' head. It was from this angle that Griz realized that Noiren was looking behind him. He turned and saw an alpha Beowulf leaping at him. Time seemed to slow. The burning red eyes stared right at Griz yet seemed more like they were looking through him. He stumbled and fell backwards as its fangs drew closer. Noiren pointed the bladed end of his halberd towards the ground and fired the shotgun again, flying straight down. Nearly a foot from Griz, Noiren's blade slammed into the Beowulf's head, pinning it to the ground. Its eyes faded as its last breath was drawn. Griz stared at Noiren. Noiren telescoped his lance and reached out towards him.

)(

"Even though I don't want be your partner, we have a duty to Beacon and I don't want to be the only one doing work in this partnership. Could you calm yourself, or have you forgotten that hate, fear, anger, and envy all attract the Grimm? If you can't then at least be more observant." Griz slapped Noiren's hand aside and stood up.

"I don't need your charity! I still don't like you in the slightest, and never will. So back off and hurry up. It's bad enough that we're partners, but I don't need the others to make fun of us for being the last ones done." Griz walked a few paces away, before pausing and turning his head. He looked at Noiren and the evaporating Beowulf.

"And uh... be useful. Like that," Griz said, motioning towards the decaying mass. Noiren watched Griz keep walking. He holstered his lance and raised a finger.

"North is that way. You're walking south," said Noiren. Griz turned and glared at Noiren.

"Don't rub it in; I would have figured it out." Griz pivoted and walked past Noiren, purposefully ramming his shoulder into him. Noiren's ears were flat against his head and his pupils were narrowed. He reluctantly walked after Griz, cautiously watching Griz' movements. A pack of Beowulfs howled in the distance. Noiren tensed as the Beowulfs howled again; this time they were much closer.

"Griz..."

"I'm not an idiot! I hear them," Griz growled at Noiren. Griz turned towards the sound and drew his sword. He glanced back at Noiren, who was reaching for his weapon. "Stand back, I don't need your help for this." Griz turned back attentively. Only a moment later a set of red eyes peeked through the brush. He blinked, and another set appeared. Soon Griz and Noiren were surrounded. With a snarl the first Beowulf crawled out into view. It stopped at the evaporating body of the Alpha Beowulf. It howled, soon joined by the others. Griz readied his sword. Noiren leapt into the nearest tree, leaving Griz to his own wishes.

"Let's how good Griz actually is," thought Noiren, as the pack of Beowulfs closed in.


	7. Episode 6

**Episode 6**

Daichi drudged through the brush, sighing. He glanced at his timepiece.

"It's been ten minutes already?" Daichi exclaimed. "And I still haven't found anyone yet..." A single though pervaded his mind in response.

 _"I found her."_ Daichi pushed the thought out of his head; this wasn't the time to reminisce. Finally, he heard movement, rustling some foliage. Daichi eagerly approached the thick padding of leaves blocking his path and shoved them out of his way, thinking to himself, _"New partner, here I come!"_ He stood still, looking rather baffled. A den ofUrsi turned their heads towards him with murderous intent in their eyes.

"Sorry! I should have knocked," Daichi joked, not caring they couldn't understand him. The nearest Ursa roared and lunged, throwing its entire weight at him. Daichi swiftly leapt to the side, the Ursa barreling through where he had just been standing. He rolled over off the ground into a crouch, facing the growing number of Ursi entering the clearing. He slipped a short-barreled revolver out, from one of his jacket's many inner hidden pockets, and cocked the firing pin back. Now all the Ursi were before him: five in total. Daichi slid his sword off his back and slammed it into the earth. He crouched behind it and quickly aimed for a random Ursa's head, exhaling.

His first shot rang out, the bullet pulling the spiraling gun-smoke along its path. It tore its way between a mid-sized Ursa's eyes, the creature's body immediately beginning to disintegrate the second after. Daichi quickly cocked the gun again, his hand continuing to hover over it. He began to fire round after round, snapping the pin back between gunshots. He nailed three of the other Ursi, effectively dimming their eyes as they fell back defeated. His last two shots pierced the largest of the Ursa in its chest and shoulder, but hardly did any damage.

Daichi grimaced at his final foe staring him down, all chambers of his six-piece spent. The Ursa lumbered towards him, shaking Daichi with a rage-filled roar. Daichi pocketing the revolver and grabbed his sword, pulling it out of the ground as he sprinted at the beast. Daichi raised the blade over his head and angled it down his right arm, blocking a swipe received from the beast's massive left paw. The Ursa reeled back, and Daichi spun himself, arcing his blade downwards and around. He ferociously swung an uppercut with the heavy blade, slicing upwards through the Ursa's torso exiting through its jaw. Daichi reached over to sheath _Écarlate_ and stopped before letting go, cautiously gripping the hilt. The Ursa remained motionless, beginning to turn to smoke. Daichi slowly stepped closer to it and lightly pushed it with his left hand. It toppled to the ground dramatically. Daichi relaxed his grip, dropping the blade back into place.

)(

Sage jumped through the trees, heading towards Yang. She heard several low booms nearby. An Ursa flew past, whizzing past the base of her tree. She followed the path and saw another Ursa fall before Yang. She smiled and looked through her scope. Yang had her back to Sage, and was looking at the person who had just killed the Ursa. It was a solemn-looking black haired girl. Sage stopped smiling when she realized what this meant; Yang already had a partner. Sage dropped the scope and began stomping on the tree, yelling some very creative swears. "Fucking hell. She was supposed ta be mine..." Sage screamed, announcing to the forest, "YANG'S MINE!" She then heard some popping in the near distance. She recognized it as revolver fire. Sage sighed in defeat and began to hop towards the sound. " _Maybe they'll be cuter."_ There was a pause in her thoughts _"On second thought, I doubt it."_

Sage climbed higher in the tree she was in, giving her a vantage point that could see in all directions. It wasn't hard to find where the revolver shots came from; the black smoke signaling the death of a Grimm was thick in one small area. She crouched and looked through her scope. She saw an Ursa stagger back, clearly hit with great force. She scanned for who was responsible, and found him. Dark hair, emerald green eyes, and a monolithic black sword. It was Daichi, holding his unique weapon just above its sheath. He stepped to and pushed over the Ursa before letting the sword fall. Sage pondered for a moment.

"Should I go over... Nah! I'll just watch for a while. For someone who noticed me pickpocketing, he doesn't seem too observant." She shifted to get more comfortable; it was at this moment Daichi quickly turned and looked right at her. Sage jumped a bit, "No way... Not again." Sage got up and moved to the other side of the tree. She looked back at him and he was still looking at where she just was. Sage sighed, "phew, maybe he just saw the glare off my rifle." Sage noticed a pair of red eyes behind Daichi. An Ursa stepped into view and began to run at Daichi. He didn't turn, or seem to notice. Daichi just kept staring at the trees. Sage yelled at him, even though he couldn't hear her, (like what she does to actors when at the movie theater.) "Hey dumbass! That's an Ursa behind yah! Turn around!" Daichi just kept staring at the trees. The Ursa reared up and raised its claws, preparing to strike. Sage cursed under her breath and aimed above its head. As it swung she fired; the bullet dropped exactly as planned and struck the Ursa in the neck. It toppled backwards and Daichi looked right at her. He started running towards her. "How could I be such a fucking idiot! He wanted to know my location." Sage chuckled and grinned. "Maybe he isn't such a dumbass." The tree shook as part of Daichi's sword stuck into it. Confused, Sage leaned over and looked to her left. The blade was embedded into the trunk, right at her height. She tapped her foot anxiously, watching as Daichi reeled himself towards her position. He hit the tree and hopped onto the branch.

)(

Daichi noticed a distant flash in the edge of his vision. Immediately he whipped towards it, expecting someone to be standing there; he turned and found no one. Perplexed he scanned the tree line; another glint in the far-off trees caught his eyes. It wasn't Grimm, it was light reflecting off (what he assumed was) a rifle scope. He stood where he was, staring at the spot in the trees. Approaching earthquake-like footsteps and a snarl confirmed there was a lone Ursa behind him, most likely attracted by the combat. Daichi continued staring ahead, not turning to fight. He heard it pick up its pace, getting closer, and closer, until it was finally upon him and about to slash out. Time seemed to slow and things grew quiet.

The crack of a sniper rifle split the silence and the Ursa collapsed. Whoever Daichi assumed was watching had just saved him. He grinned; this was what he hoped would happen. He finally was able to backtrack the bullet trajectory; the sniper would obviously have moved from where the he saw the first reflection, but just gave away their position nonetheless. Daichi sprinted up to the tree the sniper was in and drew his sword, swinging at it while commanding the just-lifeless slabs. They flew from the hilt and slammed into the massive trunk one by one, spacing themselves like a vertical ladder. Daichi vaulted off the bottom segment, launching himself towards the next. He grabbed it and flung his weight up the tree again. He repeated this quickly, each previous stepping blade trailing behind him. Daichi hauled himself over the last slab, hopping onto the same branch the sniper was on. He smiled as his weapon recombined, staring down his new partner. Bright purple hair and bandaged arms greeted him. He said,

"Well, we made eye contact; so, I guess you're my partner, huh?"

Sage grinned and said, "yah got lucky Daich', if I were anyone else that Ursa woulda gotcha. I just don't like to see my men die." Daichi was a bit confused at the last statement, but his worries were overshadowed by the glee of finally finding a partner.

"Well, the forest temple can't be far. We should head there as fast as we can." Daichi looked down the side of tree. He instinctively backed up and grabbed the trunk. "But first, can I ask how we're going to get down?"

Sage smiled softly yet mischievously. She sauntered over to Daichi and grasped his jacket with both hands, pulling him close. Daichi's face grew hot. "Uhh, Sage…" He never got a chance to finish what he was going to say as she swung him around and threw him out of the tree. Daichi screamed as he fell, flailing his arms. "Sage, what the heck!" She laughed and jumped down after him.

)(

Griz waited, sword ready. A Beowulf growled and ran at him. It swiped down with both claws. Griz blocked both of them with his sword and ripped his clawed gauntlet across the Beowulf's torso. It reeled back, and Griz thrust his blade into its chest. As it collapsed Noiren watched another Beowulf crawl towards Griz from behind. He swung around and decapitated it, but multiple Beowulfs quickly replaced it. Griz flexed his left hand. It appeared to emanate darkness, and he pointed with it at the nearest Beowulf. A small black void popped into existence and the light around it wavered. The Beowulf stopped moving, confused, followed by Griz whipping his arm in a circle. A barrier of dark orbs surrounded Griz, halting the onslaught of Grimm.

He shifted is weapon configuration and raised his submachinegun straight up. A final void appeared above and he began to rapidly fire into it; the bullets disappeared and flew randomly out of the surrounding voids. The Beowulfs howled in pain as bullets ripped through them. Noiren stared intently, memorizing every aspect of the semblance. Griz reached into his pocket and grabbed a hand full of small red Dust shards. He hurled them into the void and fired a round after them. From an unidentifiable portal a shard exploded into flames, erupting the surrounding Dust crystals. The intensity of the heat dispersed the voids and fire spread quickly through the surrounding forest. Griz leaped upwards, narrowly avoiding the fiery shockwave.

The Beowulfs vaporized and the blast cut into the trees. Noiren felt the tree he was holding onto shake and heard an ear-splitting crack. He glanced down and his suspicions were confirmed as he saw the ground tilt towards him. He scurried up the tree, vaulting up each branch towards the top. The base of the trunk caved in and the tree began to fall toward the source of the fire. Noiren swung onto the other side of the trunk and continued his ascent, running up the side of the tree. He stopped, skidded, and leapt from the tree. He pulled out _Rougir_ and fired behind him, accellerating him away from the burning trees. Noiren kept shooting downwards, spinning the blade to slice through branches in his path. After the crackling of flames was safely behind him he dropped. He brushed off ash and coughed the smoke out of his lungs. Looking around, he was alone.

)(

Griz ran away from the flames, faster than he'd ever remembered running. The adrenaline of a real fight still pumped in his veins. He stopped a distance away, leaning over to catch his breath. He looked around, and in the fading adrenaline, noticed Noiren's absence.

"Great, first he decided to be a nuisance; now he's completely disappeared." Griz heard gun fire to his far right in the distance. "I'll bet that's where the temple is! Hmph, if Noiren really wants to be my partner, let's see if that jerk can even keep up with me." Griz turned and started jogging towards the northern part of the forest. To his left, he heard the growling of a Beowulf. He drew his blade and held it high, aiming for his hidden target.

)(

Noiren had gathered his bearings and set out for the temple. He was back in the trees, kicking off the sides of the trunks to leap side to side above the ground. _"Some partner he is. I bet he ran off, hoping to lose me. He'll have to try a lot harder than that."_ After only a short minute, Noiren saw a familiar figure prowling the forest undergrowth. A small Beowulf came into view, growling and sniffing at the ground. Noiren merciless leapt down at it, swinging _Rougir_ diagonally as it extended. He wounded the creature, but as soon as he hit the ground, something ran out from the foliage and knocked into him from behind. Hard. Noiren looked over and saw Griz reeling backwards.

)(

Griz stood back up, glared and began to chastise Noiren. "What were you doing?! I was going to kill that Beowulf; if you had gotten in the way any second later I would have killed you!"

 _"If you wanted to kill me you'd have to try a lot harder than that..."_ Noiren thought. He scoffed at Griz and replied, "Well sorry! Weren't we told to _eliminate any obstacles?_ And, where were you?! Were you trying to lose me?"

"Maybe, that was the plan. But, you keep messing things up for me! I can't even ditch you without you ruining that! Ugh, why did you have to be MY partner?! I can't stand you! I...ugh, _hate_ even isn't a strong enough word right now!"

"Maybe if you felt like showing any signs of compassion, enthusiasm for working with a partner, or maybe even acting human for once-"

"I'M NOT A HUMAN!" Griz snapped "And don't you _dare_ lump me with them again!" Griz paused, taking a breath before his shoulders relaxed a little. He said, "Look, just...just shut up and let's go, we have to find the relic; were probably going to be the last ones considering how much you slow me down." Noiren sighed as Griz began to walk away. Griz swiped his transforming chokutō to the left and fired two shots, killing the wounded Beowulf.

)(

Daichi swung his sword in front of him, catching it in a large tree limb, (one far too close to the ground for his liking). He jolted to a stop and looked up. Sage fell right towards him, laughing maniacally the entire way down. She grabbed onto one of his legs and pulled him further down. Daichi gasped as his sword slipped a little from the weight of Sage. "Sage," Daichi said. "Don't ever do that again." Sage looked up at him and grinned.

"I got us down. Just like you asked."

"I never asked you to do it; I was asking _how_ we could get down."

"Ah, whatever," Sage said as she dropped to the next branch down. "You would have been fine; did you forget about your aura?"

"No. I just don't like to waste it when it's not necessary." Daichi pulled himself up and dropped, pulling his weight against blade. He pulled the rest of his sword through the branch, with him and the bisected limb falling down by Sage. "We should go. The forest temple can't be far." Sage snapped him a sloppy salute and swung backwards off the branch, flipping towards the undergrowth. Sage hit the earth and rolled back up on her feet. Daichi followed, choosing instead to safely climb down. The second Daichi landed he Looked at Sage and nodded North. Sage chuckled and started running, Daichi in hot pursuit.


	8. Episode 7

**Episode 7**

From the top of the cliff both professed Ozpin and Goodwitch watched their scrolls expectantly; they were recording everyone's abilities for grading. "It seems our last two pairs have been formed, sir. Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy. I can't possibly see those two getting along," said Professor Goodwitch. It was clear Ozpin wasn't listening to what she was saying. He was focused on the two pairs that were troubling him. He moved the first pair into large screen. Ruby rose was sitting on the ground while the privileged yet prodigy student, Weiss Schnee, was ranting back and forth in front of her. Ozpin swapped their screen with the other pair. He knit his brows in concern as he watched Griz Baxter stomp through the forest with Noiren Liquet in tow. _"Cats and dogs living together... Hmm, I do hope those two can get along,"_ Ozpin thought as he watched Griz turn around multiple times to yell insults at Noiren.

)(

Noiren grudgingly walked after Griz. They had been wandering for a while. Noiren himself was starting to believe that there were going to be the last ones done. Noiren hesitated when he noticed his boots began to sink in the loamy peat. He heard Griz exclaim, "finally, something new!" Noiren followed Griz' gaze to the marsh that extended out before them. Noiren squinted, and on the opposite side of the swamp he saw a small stone building. Colorful miniature figures dotted the nearby hill; The other teams.

"Griz, look east, I think that's the temple."

" _Haha!_ My exemplary navigation skills have led us to the temple!"

"That doesn't excuse that you were destructive and careless the whole way here. I mean, the first thing you tried was walking the _other_ direction."

"Well, you know what, at least I'm not complaining about everything _you_ do; I'd be listing things all day!"

"Save your breath, please, and focus. We still have to cross the marsh." Noiren shuddered at the thought of having to traverse so much water. Griz started to walk onto the muddy grass without saying a word, prompting Noiren to start moving. It may have been just him not being fond of water, but Noiren had a bad feeling about the swamp...

)(

Sage quickly ran up a small hill; she started laughing loudly as a decayed stone, elliptical building came into view. "We found it! We found it! Ace temple finder Sage is back on top!" Daichi calmly jogged up to her, panting, "that was much easier than I thought it would be."

"DON'T BE SO QUICK TO JUDGE!" Yelled Sage, startling Daichi. "There could be enemies lurking around every corner... Waiting to KILL YOU!" Daichi couldn't say anything. What she was saying was so outrageous and dumb that he had no choice but to just shake his head and walk away. He walked up to the monument and peered around a stone pillar. Looking right at him was the black haired girl. Daichi jumped back in surprise and Sage shrieked, "See! I told you! Now you will face the _consequences_!"

"It's just another student," He said. "Calm down, Sage. So, I guess that means this is the place?" The black-haired girl nodded and walked back to her partner. Sage bounced up to Daichi and quickly examined the other pair of students.

"Y-yang?" Sage was stumbling over her words. Yang looked over and approached them.

"Welcome to the forest temple! Don't feel bad, we weren't first either." Yang saw Sage staring at her. "Hey it's you, the girl from yesterday! I don't think... I got your name. I'm Yang, what's yours?" She held out her hand, and Sage weakly shook it. Her heart was racing.

"Sage…" She mumbled. Her face was getting more and more red by the second.

"Well Sage, it's great to meet you! I hope to see you around!" Yang said before turning around and leaving with her partner.

"Yeah-uh, yeah…I hope to see more of you, too…" Sage said. Daichi looked back and forth between Sage and the slowly disappearing figure of Yang, trying to figure out what had made Sage so visibly weak, then spoke.

"I'm not sure what just happened, and I'm gonna- hey, Sage! Back to the real world!" He snapped his fingers by her ear, bringing her back to reality.

"What? Who? Oh, Daich'! What's up?" She said nonchalantly.

"We still have to grab the relic, Sage."

"Oh! Right! Well, let's do it!" Daichi raised an eyebrow at her.

"Something the matter, Daichi?" She asked.

"You're into Yang." He said confidently. Sage sighed and stared into space.

"Yeah, isn't she perf- I mean, uh," She gathered herself and stood with one hand on her hip, leaning slightly to the left. "Nah, what makes yah say that?" She flipped her hair with a turn of her head, but it collected once again over her right eye. Daichi chuckled.

Daichi chuckled and said,

"Oh, nothing," and walked past her, along the pedestals the relics were set on. Sage followed Daichi's movements with her head.

 _"Is it that obvious?"_ She thought to herself. _"Or maybe he's more observant than he lets on…"_ Sage shook off the thought and caught up to him. "So… chess pieces? These are the 'important' relics we were supposed ta get?" Daichi was studying a white knight piece intently.

"Yeah… but think about it. Each piece represents something. The knight, for example, is quick and agile. Played well, this seemingly simple piece can be truly devastating…" Sage nodded slowly.

"Ok, the knight piece it is." She said.

"No," Daichi replied. He turned his attention to the white rook. "It's not for us. The rook, though. That's a different story. A strong and steady piece, it may only be useful in the end of the game, but it's a force to be reckoned with at any point."

"Ok, so the _rook_ piece it is _."_

"Also not for us." Sage groaned loudly. Daichi walked over to the pawn. "The pawn…every game has to start here. Some end here, as well."

"Are yah suggesting that we're just pawns?" Sage exclaimed. Daichi laughed.

"Oh, heavens no. I'm just rambling at this point, honestly. Oh, there we are!" He went over to the black queen piece. "I'm surprised no one took it. A piece as powerful as it is fragile. Played well, it can end a game in a few moves. Played wrong, and it's a devastating loss." He picked it up and examined it a little more closely. "Always my favorite piece." Sage sighed.

"So, we're finally done…?" Sage asked, exasperated. Daichi smiled.

"Yes, Sage. We're finally done." He slid the piece into his coat pocket and beckoned for Sage to follow him as he began walking back to the cliffs.

)(

Noiren and Griz were slowly advancing through the marshland. Noiren refused to get into the murky green water unless he absolutely had to. Griz, however, had no problem walking through the dark muck. Noiren left carefully from stone to stone, landing skillfully each time. Griz climbed up onto a large and mossy patch of rock and shook the mud and grime from his jacket and pants. Noiren waited until he was done to join him, leaping onto a part decently behind Griz. As Griz wiped the last bits of mud from his jacket he looked to the temple, only a bit closer than it was earlier. Griz angrily thought to himself,

 _"Crap, we're gonna be the last ones! I am SO not going to have that title on my shoulders. 'Last students to finish initiation'! What's that guy even doing?"_ He glanced over to Noiren who was looking worriedly at the patch of rocks they were standing on.

"What's the matter? Get a little water in your boots?" He called out. Noiren looked up and was about to speak when a low rumbling shook the rocks. No, the rocks themselves were producing the vibrations. The rock farce rose up, revealing itself to be the back plates of a massive Grimm, a crocodile-like beast. It lifted its head from the water and the rumbling turned into a deep, ear-splitting hiss. Griz now understood why Noiren was looking so concerned.

"Sobek!" Noiren shouted. Griz stepped back and slipped on the moss, revealing one of the bony scale-like plates that adorned the monstrous Grimm. The Sobek roared and began thrashing, trying to shake Griz and Noiren off its back. It whipped its tail violently, beating massive gusts of wind that sent Griz and Noiren flying towards the temple. Luckily, they landed on a stretch of solid ground, narrowly missing the watery peat. Both got to their feet and sprinted towards the temple clearing, the Sobek retreating into the murky shallows behind them.


	9. Episode 8

**Episode 8**

Griz and Noiren entered the clearing, breathless from their seemingly endless run from the Sobek. Looking back, they soon realized it had already given up pursuit.

"What the hell was that?!" Shouted Griz.

"I believe," Noiren said, pausing to catch his breath, "That was a really pissed off Grimm." Griz eyed the swamp behind them. He spat at the ground and glared at Noiren.

"I can relate to that," Griz mumbled to himself. Noiren started to walk towards the other students resting before them. Griz followed, noticing the objects atop stone pillars circling the temple.

"Those the relics?" Griz asked rhetorically, not really expecting anyone to answer. A blonde girl spoke up.

"Yyyup," she confirmed. Griz sighed in relief, seeing that only about half of the objects were gone.

"At least we weren't the last ones... there's still relics left!" Griz said with a smirk.

"You actually just missed a group that came by."

"Who were they?" Noiren asked as he approached the center of the structure.

"Uhh, that Daichi guy and... some quiet girl with a rifle," The blonde said slowly, thinking about her response.

Noiren slumped over and any enthusiasm he had suddenly fled. "I bet it was Sage. But being quietdoesn't really describe _her..."_

"Sage! That's what her name was!" the girl said confidently. Griz mimicked Noiren's mannerisms and groaned.

"I suppose that confirms it," Griz said, before moving on from the topic. "What about you and your partner; you have names don't you?"

"Oh yeah, I'm Yang." Yang motioned towards a pillar on the opposite side of the temple. Half in the shadows was a taller girl with midnight-black hair. Yang continued and called out to her, "And over there is Blake. Blake, come say hi!" Blake glanced over her shoulder at them, unimpressed.

"No thanks, I'm good," she replied, looking towards the forest once again. Noiren stared at her a little longer than Griz and Yang, finally looking away to introduce himself after Griz.

"We should find a suitable relic now," Noiren suggested, ending their conversation. The team of Faunus walked to the middle of the ellipse, stopping to gaze at the variety of relics presented.

)(

Sage and Daichi walked with their heads held high, following a cliff at the end of the forest. Daichi nodded his head side to side to a tune in his head. Sage marched triumphantly, hands in her pockets. Sage would giggle occasionally, prompting odd stares from Daichi.

"Something funny?"

"Everything's funny if yah look at it right. Like your face."

Daichi reacted, twisting his face in surprise.

Sage burst out laughing. "Like that!"

"Sage, have you always been this way?" Daichi questioned, scratching the back of his head.

"No. Or wait, maybe I have. Who even knows; I sure don't." Sage continued to march through the woods, still chuckling. Daichi sighed, picking up the pace to keep up with her. Daichi tried to think of some topic for small talk; he couldn't stand silence almost as much as Sage enjoyed breaking it. He eyed up the rifle bouncing on her back.

"So, you like rifles?" Sage whipped around with a grin, eyes gleaming.

"HELL YEAH, yah bet I do!" Sage pulled the gun off her back and began to spout random and senseless bits of information about the type of gun it was, where it was made, blah blah blah. Daichi rolled his eyes and sighed.

" _I only asked if she liked rifles. Jeez..."_ He ignored her and keep walking, until she said:

"-watching your bullet hit its target and seeing the blood fly is the best part!"

"Wait, what are talking about?"

"What, yah weren't listening? Hmph, I ain't gonna repeat myself. A _real_ friend would have listened the whole time."

"But I, uh, well... I mean, I've only known you for a day!" Daichi stuttered, slightly offended.

Before Sage could reply, the distant sound of trees crashing caught their attention. Daichi turned attentively and instinctively reached for his sword. Sage noticed as well and held the rifle in a more attentive manner. The cracking of limbs drew closer, accompanied by flashes of gray and black between the shadowy trees. Daichi gasped, "Grimm!" The last thicket of limbs obscuring their view shook and shattered, a Deathstalker bursting through in pursuit of a familiar figure.

"Pyrrha!" Daichi called out. Her focus snapped to Daichi and could now see the exhaustion in her eyes. Without looking away, Daichi sternly commanded Sage, "Slow it down." Sage grinned and primed the chamber of her rifle, flicking the safety off. She aimed at the leg joints of the colossal beast and fired several rounds, pulling the bolt back and forth impossibly fast. It screeched in pain and turned towards Sage. Its eyes flickered a deeper red than before. Sage and Daichi instinctively backed up.

Pyrrha stopped sprinting, leaning against a tree to catch her breath. To everyone's surprise the Deathstalker noticed and turned away from Sage towards its original prey. Daichi ran towards her, brandishing his blade. "Pyrrha! Run! It's coming for you!" He swung diagonally upwards from the ground and a segment flew off his blade towards the Grimm. It flew high and grated against its armor before flying past. The Grimm, unmoved and slightly annoyed, finally focused on Daichi and his partner. " _Damn thing's heavier than it looks. It's going to take more than just one blade to topple this thing,"_ Daichi thought. Gritting his teeth, he prepared to swing again. He stepped backwards, his arm bumping into the side of the bluffs behind him.

"It's pinning you against the cliffs! Head for the temple!" Pyrrha called out. Sage took off running, but Daichi stood still in anticipation. The Deathstalker closed in quickly, pulling back its stinger, ready to strike. Daichi lunged away just as the tail end stabbed into the cliff behind him, narrowly missing its claws and giving him the head start he needed on the monster. He caught up with Pyrrha and chased after Sage, the Deathstalker screeching as it freed itself.

)(

"These don't really look like relics to me," said Griz as he examined a white Rook piece.

"I wonder if we get graded on what piece we choose. You know, like, huntsman's' intuition." Noiren asked

Griz gasped at this and began to furiously fume over the piece in front of him. Noiren walked among the pieces, grazing each of them with his left hand. He stopped at a black queen. "I'm surprised no one has taken this piece; it's a good piece." Griz looked over and narrowed his eyes.

"What does it do?"

"Have you ever played chess?"

"Like I would have the time for something as childish as that."

"Considering Ozpin chose chess pieces, he probably disagrees. It's a game that requires skill, forethought, and patience." Noiren paused, and continued with sudden realization "Like being a huntsman..."

"Well don't just stand there gawking at it; if it's what we need, grab it and let's go." Noiren slid the slender black game piece in his pocket.

As they began to walk back to the cliffs, an Ursa came roaring out of the tree-line. The pair of Faunus readied their weapons, but the Ursa collapsed, dead. An eccentric, orange haired girl hopped off its back.

"Aww...It's broken." She sighed sadly. A boy jogged up, out of breath from following the girl.

"Nora..." He said between broken breaths, "Don't ever do that again."

Crashing, gunshots and tree limbs snapping drew the students' attention away from Nora's feat. An explosion of wood and foliage followed Pyrrha Nikos as she sprinted out of the forest, followed by a massive Deathstalker Grimm and Daichi's fellowship. Noiren and Griz regrouped back at the temple, hoping the stone structure would provide more protection. Out of the trees on the other side of the temple, Ruby leapt from the branches and landed in a roll, running over to her sister. More students now gathered at the temple; their numbers rivaled a small army.

)(

Sage tried to line up her sights but the Deathstalker was too quick. She had already used her semblance within several minutes prior and couldn't aim while running.

"Daich'! Try an' do something!" She called out.

"I have been _trying_ , Sage!" He yelled back. Daichi's fingers danced over his sword's grip and the entire weapon came alive. He swung it downwards, every segment ejecting and following his movements like a whip. The Grimm swiftly scuttled out of the way as the blade slammed into the ground, throwing up an explosion of soil.

Daichi cursed under his breath and recalled the segments. The Grimm spun continued to mow down foliage in its pursuit of Pyrrha. Daichi chased after them while developing a plan in his mind. _"Alright, if I can intercept it from the front I can slow it down by cutting a few trees in its path."_ Daichi closed the distance, but right as he entered range of it he finally noticed they were in the barren field by the temple. _There were no trees._ He pulled out his revolver, now reloaded with red dust cartridges. He exhaled, slightly affecting the sensitivity of the dust with his aura and fired three fiery projectiles at the Deathstalker. They whistled and burned through the air, exploding against its hard shell.  
 _"Fantastic. Now I have its attention and no next step. Great move, Daichi."_

However, Sage now had a clean shot at the creature's tail. It would have been an easy target, the bulbous stinger, but Sage was no longer paying attention. She was watching vomit boy tumble through the air followed by Weiss. Sage tracked their descent, thinking,

" _Well, as it stands, she'll fall right on poor vomit boy. Her aura should take the blunt of it, but if it's too low..."_ She began to giggle. " _Ohh...the Ice Queen might break a few bones."_ She watched Jaune hit the ground with a satisfying thud. She watched Weiss expectantly, completely oblivious to the deadly Grimm chasing her comrades. She spotted Griz stumbling towards where Jaune fell, pushing past Yang. He stepped over Jaune with one foot and held his arms out. Weiss fell right into them, nearly dragging Griz down to the ground. Clearly straining, he dropped her on Jaune. Sage squealed with laughter. Daichi yelled at Sage, finally noticing she wasn't contributing anymore.

"Hey! Quit screwing around over there and, " He was cut off, dodging a swipe from the Deathstalker's claw. "Help me!" Sage continued to laugh. " _Of all the damn times for her to be screwing off, it's right now, in a life-or-death situation! I am_ SO _finding a way to get back at her for this. Assuming I live!_ " Daichi thought pessimistically.

)(

Griz looked down at Weiss. He reached out a hand. "Are you alright? How do you feel?" Weiss stood up on her own, effectively stepping on Jaune. She brushed Griz' hand away.

"I would have been fine on my own," She glared at Griz, causing him to step back, "Without the help from a Faunus." Weiss brushed herself off and hurried past him towards her partner.

"My back..." Griz looked down and jumped. He had completely forgotten about Jaune.

"Sorry about that," he apologized, offering his hand now to Jaune.

)(

Pyrrha was rejoining the group at the temple and Daichi had the Deathstalker's attention. He stood in front of it in an attempt to block its advances. Daichi was getting frustrated with every one of his blade whips either deflecting off the Grimm's armor or being evaded entirely. Daichi suddenly became aware of the rifle fire swiftly approaching him from behind. He looked over his shoulder and saw Ruby flying at them, scythe drawn. Taking the distraction, the Deathstalker ran straight at Daichi and slapped him aside him, knocking the wind from lungs and the sword from his hand. By the time he regained his balance he saw the Grimm pummel Ruby with its claw as like it did to him. She turned and ran with the Deathstalker hot on her heels. Daichi breathed deeply and scrambled for _Écarlate,_ desperate to close the distance with the Grimm as fast as possible.

"Daich', we got a turkey situation above us!" Sage yelled at him from the tree-line. He looked up, feeling his heart sink as a massive Nevermore circled towards them from behind. It hovered at their rear for a moment before powerfully beating its wings down, sending a hail of razor-sharp feathers. The onslaught of feathers barraged the earth and forced Daichi down as he blocked an incoming feather. The impact pushed him to the ground while another massive plume caught Ruby's cape, rendering her immobile. She tugged at her cape, but the Deathstalker easily caught up and raised its golden stinger, ready to strike. Daichi was about to yell to her but couldn't remember her name. His mouth open and eyes widened with fear; Daichi was flooded with memories of his past, locked away.

)(

Sage watched as Ruby fell, caught by one of the Nevermore's spears for feathers. She watched through her scope, unable to target the approaching Deathstalker's eyes; it was obscured by the plumes of the Nevermore attack. _"Wait, where's Daich'?"_ Sage followed the wake of trampled grass behind the colossal creature and found Daichi stumbling. His face was as white as a sheet, drained by the sight of the Grimm's deadly stinger. He dropped his sword and grabbed his head, falling down onto his knees as if defeated. Sage quickly realized what was happening. The terror in his eyes was all too familiar to her. She quickly stashed rifle away and began the trek to her helpless partner. Sage leapt from her perch and took off running for Daichi, mirroring Yang's sprint for Ruby.

"There's no way she'll make it in time." Sage gasped aloud. As if to correct her, Weiss whipped out her rapier beside her and activated her glyphs, launching herself past Yang, flying right at Ruby. She slammed he rapier into the ground, emitting a blinding flash of blue light. Everyone shielded their eyes, and the Nevermore bellowed, temporarily blinded. The vague sound of Daichi sobbing in pain was barely noticeable over the piercing Nevermore screech. As the light faded, it revealed the Deathstalker's tail and claw had been completely encased in a thick blanket of ice. Sage kept her speed towards Daichi, sliding next to him when she approached. Her face was coldly stern.

"Hey, Daichi, get up man, we aren't out of the fight yet!" She told him. He only responded with continued hyperventilation. "Daichi look, we have to go, come on, snap out of it!" She shook him gently, and in his panicked breathing there were words. Sage couldn't make sense of them. "Hey, if you're worried about Ruby, she's fine!" She scolded. He remained in a panic. "Ay, ay, ay...Look, I'm sorry for this, but I have to get you out of here somehow…" Sage pulled out her rifle and slammed the base of Daichi's skull with the stock of her rifle, knocking him out. She hefted him over her shoulder and began to walk as quickly as she could to the temple. Griz and Noiren noticed and went over to them."What happened?" Griz asked as Sage set Daichi's limp body against a pillar.

"I had to knock him out. He was having some sort of episode, and it might have been a long time before he snapped out of it."

"What triggered it?" Noiren asked, slight concern in his voice for Daichi, as well as how intelligible Sage's speech had become.

"No idea," Sage said hostilely. "I wouldn't mention it; don't want to risk setting it off."

Daichi stirred, his consciousness slowly returning to him.

"Just, keep this under wraps," Sage hissed, with a hint of disgust, "you lousy Faunus..."

)(

Daichi slowly opened his eyes. Sage, Noiren, and Griz were all standing around him. Daichi wondered, "How did these guys get over here... what did I miss?" He slowly sat up and looked around him. He was at the temple again.

"How...how'd I get here?" He asked groggily

"Daichi! You're awake!" Griz said ecstatically. Noiren and Griz approached him and helped him up, retrieving his sword and handing it to him.

"You...took a nasty fall. Sage brought you over here." Said Noiren, shooting Sage a wary glance out of the corner of his eyes. Sage put her finger and thumb between her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose as though she had a headache and reeled forward, capturing Daichi's attention. He reached to catch her, but she stopped herself and looked up at him with a goofy grin.

"Hey Daich'. So, yah have finally fallen for me huh?" Daichi's face grew red and he dropped her. Sage stood back up and cracked her neck, chuckling.

"N-No, it's not like that! You were falling just now." He stammered. Sage looked at Noiren and Griz.

"Hey!" She exclaimed. They jumped back defensively. "Tell this guy that his funny looking face ain't good enough for me." Noiren relaxed. It seemed Sage was back to normal. Well, about as normal as you could get.

Behind them, the ice began to crack under the strain as the Deathstalker attempting to flee its encasement, frightening them.

"Oh, here's a novel idea! Let's get outta here 'fore that things kills us!" Sage exclaimed. Daichi turned his gaze back to the tree line, where the other students had gathered, starting to run back towards the starting cliff. Daichi stood up and slung his sword over his back. Everyone followed suit sheathing their weapons.

"I'd say we should probably follow them. If they know the way back, they are our strongest chance of survival. If we have numbers with, surely the Grimm can't stop us _that_ easily."

"So back to the cliffs, then? From there we can probably strategize," said Noiren, agreeing with Daichi's plan. Daichi nodded and started to jog back to the ruins. Sage skipped behind him and Griz started after her. He stopped, noticing Noiren hadn't moved.

"Hey, Remnant to Noiren? Come on chuckle-butt, we have to go."

"What do you think happened to Daichi?"

"Huh?"

"You heard Sage. Daichi was having some sort of episode. What caused it?" Griz contemplated this.

"I don't really know. If he tells us, he does. Until then, as far as we're concerned, he took a nasty fall." Griz answered, followed by Daichi yelling back at them.

"You guys coming?"

Griz started walking. He looked over his shoulder and said,

"Come on, we can ask more questions later." Noiren nodded and ran up to Griz. They had caught up with the others at the tree line. Daichi started to speak,

"Well, we should hurry back or we-" He was cut off by an echoing roar as the massive Grimm, that Noiren and Griz encountered, erupted from the marsh on their right. Daichi choked on his words but managed to get out, "Is that a Sobek!?" Despite its size, the second the Grimm slammed into the earth it charged them with surprising speed, teeth bared.

"Run!" Shouted Griz. Everyone sprinted out of the way as the black flesh of the Sobek cascaded into their old position. The woods began to thin out and soon they were in a plain surrounded by rubble and ancient aqueducts. The Nevermore from earlier had taken up a position at the end of the prairie, defending the cliffs. The other students were hiding from its gaze.

 _"Well at least we can hide from that thing,"_ thought Daichi. As if to contradict him, the Sobek burst out from the woods, followed by the Deathstalker.

"Well shit!" Sage said, throwing up her arms in exaggerated surrender. Daichi looked at the pillars that Ruby and the others were hiding behind. His eyes followed them to the top, which made a walkway above the ground.

"Guys, if we can get up on that walkway we can avoid getting killed by what's here on the ground!" Shouted Daichi.

"What about the Nevermore?" Noiren inquired. Daichi turned to Sage.

"Sage-" She took her hands out of the air and looked at him, "Do your thing." Sage grinned and pulled out her rifle. It flipped open, extended and clicked loudly into place. She aimed down the scope and emptied her clip into the Nevermore. A roar from behind them revealed that the Sobek decided to close in on them. Daichi stood still and furrowed his brow. His aura began to glow, now merging and enveloping his blade. Three blades split off and lined up on the ground as he concentrated. "Get on! I'll launch you!" Everyone seemed puzzled, but reluctantly stepped onto the black rectangles before them. Daichi grinned with malice and swung his sword upward, sending the ejected segments flying upwards. The slabs accelerated at incredible speed, launching their passengers over the aqueduct.

Daichi looked up only to see the gaping maw of the Sobek lunging towards him. "Eep!" Daichi gasped. In the face of almost certain peril, a small gleaming object landed directly between Daichi's legs. He glanced down to see a large, uncut, green dust crystal. Charge with aura, it shone for only a second before exploding into a rush of wind energy. He flew upwards just as the Sobek's jaws clamped, landing beside the others. The Deathstalker stormed past the Sobek, heading towards Pyrrha and her companions while the Nevermore had Ruby, Yang, and their partners preoccupied.

)(

Noiren peeked over the side of the structure, startled to find the Sobek backing up, still watching them. He pointed down, "Daichi, this doesn't look good at all." The Sobek charged again, slamming its armored snout into the pillar holding the platform up. The pillar held for a moment before cracking and shattering under the Grimm's weight. The walkway shuttered and began to fall beneath them. Instinctively, everyone ran and jumped to a stable section of the stone. Griz shouted,

"It's trying to knock us down!"

"Thank yah, Griz! Because we _clearly_ couldn't see that!" Sage yelled back. Daichi pointed towards the cliff.

"The Nevermore is busy, if we run to the cliff sides we can make it without having to fight this!"

The Sobek knocked into their platform again. They started running down the platform, not bothering to stop again.

"Uh, Daich'? Maybe 'run and live' ain't an option..." Sage said. The Sobek had stopped chasing them. It turned a bit away from them and lifted its tail away from them. Noiren gasped, remembering the gales it generated when he and Griz first encountered it. Noiren ran past Sage and tackled Griz, yelling, "Duck!" The Sobek swung its tail slowly at first before snapping it towards them, pushing a massive gust of wind towards them. The raging gale blew over them, sending loose rocks and plants flying. Daichi grabbed a handhold in the platform, barely managing to hold on as they all braced against the aqueduct. An earsplitting crack echoed around them as the platform start to fall sideways towards to forest.

" _Son of a...darnit!_ " thought Daichi as the ancient construct plummeted towards the ground. Sage leapt from the platform and onto a tree, Noiren kicked off and landed easily with his feline instincts. Griz had buried his metal claw into the stone and was struggling to pull it out. Daichi reached into his jacket, grasped a purple Dust crystal, and slowly crushed it as his aura absorbed its effect. He grabbed Griz and wrapped his arms around him, positioning himself to take the impact. The platform hit and threw its occupants harshly to the ground. As the Dust cleared Daichi released his hold on Griz, not visibly damaged. Griz looked at him in confusion.

"How did you..." Griz began to ask.

"Gravity Dust. My semblance allows me to absorb dust and gain its effect through aura. In this case, force dampening." Daichi looked at Griz. "Instead of multiplying force, it reduces the amount of force on me to a fraction of what it should be. Say if it were red Dust I would be fire-proof." Griz stared at Daichi in awe. "Griz, this is no time to idle; that Sobek is coming back! And very quickly I should say." Griz nodded and sprinted with Daichi away from the growing roars and crashing.

"We should hurry," said Noiren. As if agreeing telepathically, all four of them turned and ran opposite of the sounds of the Sobek. In the short distance ahead Daichi could see the trees thinning out. Thinking it was a clearing he pushed his body harder, only to skid to a stop at the edge of the sprawling canyon before them.

"Well what now?" inquired Griz. Daichi turned back.

"It seems we have no choice but to fight. Sage, get up into the trees and try and shout out its eyes. Blind it."

"Caaannn do." She replied with a salute and began hopping up the lower branches to the tree tops. Daichi turned to Griz.

"Griz, ready your portals. I have a plan. I'll need them where I point." Griz nodded and unsheathed his chokutō. "Noiren." The Faunus listened intently. "Cover me. I have no doubts it will try to use that wind attack again."

"I'll think of some way to counter it."

"We will only have one chance, most likely. Make every move count," said Daichi confidentially. He looked up at the cliff the Nevermore was guarding. He saw the faint flashes of gunfire. "Maybe _this is why he chose chess pieces. In the end this is just another game to be won. With our lives as the prize."_

"I can't get a clear shot! There's too many trees in the way!" Sage hollered down to them. Daichi smirked and readied his blade. He focused intently, and his aura merged with his sword once more. He looked at Griz and Noiren.

"You might want to duck." The second they dropped to the ground his sword erupted into six deadly pieces, and each slab flew through the trees at an alarming speed, quickly leveling every tree between them and the Sobek. The ground shook from the collective impacts of every tree trunk as they tumbled to the ground. The Sobek burst into view, staring at its prey with hate-filled crimson eyes. The Sobek swung its tail immediately, sending a blast of wind at them.

Noiren jumped in front of Daichi, and half-filled _Rougir's_ bullet chamber with gravity Dust. He spun the cylinder to a different selection and filled the rest of the with green Dust. Only a second before the gale hit them, Noiren thrust his blade forward and fired the Dust chamber. A blast of wind shot out from the lance, amplified by the gravity Dust. The two gales met and dissipated each other's force, stilling the air in front of them. Stalled by confusion, the Grimm stood still for a moment. Sage took the opportunity and two shots rang out, both within one second. The bullets struck home, effectively blinding the Sobek. Daichi stared in awe. _"No way... if she's using a bolt-action rifle... to pull off two shots that quickly, she is pretty amazing."_ Snapping out of his daze, Daichi pointed out a row of spots in front of the Sobek.

"Griz, portals!" He called out. Griz nodded and focused. He didn't know how straining this many portals would be on his Aura, so he braced for the worst. Six portals appeared in a row before the blinded creature. Daichi readied his sword, allowing it to split into six pieces. "Griz, when my sword hits the portal, make more right above them."

"Oh... okay, I got it!" Griz said, understandingly. The Sobek roared and charged forward towards their voices. Daichi swung his sword down, sending all six blades towards each portal. Griz closed his eyes and held his left hand out. Right as the sword slabs hit the bottom voids, six more portals appeared ten feet above them. The slabs fell through, disappearing and reappearing from the top. The Sobek blindly charged through the barrier, only to be slammed with the slabs, over and over and over again. Its plating cracked and the blades cut swiftly through its flesh. The Sobek backed up, roaring in pain, as the now black stained segments continued their endless descent. Griz stumbled and his portals wavered, enough so that the blades hit the ground.

"Griz! Call them off, I think that's enough!" Daichi yelled as his sword recombined. Griz waved his hand and the voids disappeared. Sage shot several times again, this time into the now open wounds with red Dust-infused rounds. The Sobek roared and thrashed as the bullets exploded into a spray of fire, the wounds spewing a thick black mist everywhere. It positioned itself towards Sage's tree and ran at an alarming rate towards her perch.

"Ulp! ABANDON SHIP!" Sage yelled as she leapt to the tree next to her. The Sobek knocked the tree over, sending it cascading into the gorge. Daichi smiled; a plan forming in his mind.

"Griz! I need more portals! Put one above us; put the rest behind the Sobek over the cliff!" Griz strained, sweat dotting his brow as he used the last of his aura to do what Daichi asked. Daichi turned to Noiren as the Sobek turned around. "Put as much fire next to the portal above us as you can! The low pressure should create a vacuum over the cliff!"

"Let's see if this works then," said Noiren. He compacted and flipped his weapon, and set the selector on the revolver to red. He raised the barrel and pulled the, releasing red Dust that exploded into a stream of fire. It shot past their nearest portal, noticing the mist from the Grimm's wounds began to draw towards the cliffside voids. The Sobek slipped as the pull grew stronger but caught itself and slowly crawled towards them. Daichi gritted his teeth.

"It's working, but we need more heat!" Griz stumbled to reload his submachine gun and began to fire round after round of red Dust shards into the fire, adding more volume to the size of the flame. The Sobek's claws scrabbled to gain purchase as it slid backwards. It caught itself and barely held its weight from falling off the edge. It hissed in rage and hauled itself up and over, making a desperate dash towards them. Daichi sighed and spun, drawing his sword. He performed signature attack, swinging upwards and launching the top slab at the creature. The blade collided with the Grimm and Daichi continued slashing, blasting the following five slabs into its massive body. The Sobek slid back from the impacts and nearly toppled off the edge, still holding itself on the end of its luck.

Sage leaped from the tree and calmly walked up to Sobek. She leaned in close to its snout, holding onto the tree behind her. She took a deep breath and blew in its face. The Grimm slipped and tumbled backwards, flying through and dissipating the portals as it fell in the ravine. Its roars grew faint and soon disappeared completely. Sage turned around and grinned.

"Happy Birthday to me!" Everyone looked at her, confused and exhausted. "Hm... I wish you guys had a sense of humor!" said Sage. She burst out laughing at the end of her odd statement. For the first time, everyone else laughed too. Griz fell to his knees.

"Wait, wait...where did the Nevermore go?" Panted Griz. Daichi looked up the cliff and saw a flash of red at the top. Squinting, he made out Ruby standing tall, cloak flapping in the wind.

"Well, I'll be da-" He caught himself on his swear, "-a monkey's uncle." Sage laughed at him.

"Daich', yah're so weird!"

)(

Daichi was inside the assembly hall, standing in the front row waiting for their names to be called. As Ozpin called out the name of the team before him, he felt an increasing feeling of nostalgia and sadness. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Everyone around him started clapping. He wasn't thinking about it, but he found himself doing the same. Ozpin continued as the applause died down.

"Daichi Stone, Noiren Liquet, Griz Baxter, and Sage Williams, will you all rise to the stage," Ozpin called out. Daichi felt butterflies in his stomach as he walked up in anticipation. He and the others walked up onto the stage. He felt every pair of eyes boring into him. As they stood in place underneath the Holo-screens, Ozpin continued.

"The four of you all chose the Black Queen piece. From this day forth, you will be known as..."

Daichi, Sage, Noiren, and Griz all waited anxiously.

"Team SNGW, (snow). Led by..."

Daichi thought in place, _"I bet it's Noiren. Griz is a bit too much of a loner, Sage is too wild. Noiren is easily the most calculating."_

 _"_ Daichi Stone," finished Ozpin. Daichi felt shocked. He stood where he was, unable to completely register what had happened. He looked to Ozpin.

"As long as you can grow and learn from mistakes, I'm confident in this decision." Ozpin smiled softly at him. Sage walked over and poked Daichi in the face.

"Ow, hey!" Daichi looked at her, slightly annoyed.

"Well Daich', ya'll definitely be a better leader than what Griz would be!"

"Hey! I heard that!" Exclaimed Griz. Noiren only smiled slightly at this. He nodded towards Daichi with approval. Daichi looked into the audience and saw Ruby clapping enthusiastically for him. He and his new teammates walked off stage as Ozpin called out Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang's names.

"The four of you all chose the white knight piece. From this day forth, you will be known as, team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose." Daichi couldn't help himself from clapping loudly for her. Nothing could have made his day any better. It seemed things were shaping up to be an interesting year.


End file.
